Lu Xiaofeng Book 5: Mansion of Spirits

[LuDongBin]

Thks foxs for keeping pace ....

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[foxs]

HPC, Anh, DongBin, Jaya, you are welcome. Clown, I guess you'll simply have to wait and see ... Don't worry, not for long. 9Dragons, I had similar thought. If Hua Manlou could hear his voice, he would immediately know. 'Woody'? Good one! OK, I'll go back and change all references to Wooden Taoist to 'Father Woody' or 'Reverend Woody', Minford style. ycb, thanks, I'll fix it. What do you mean by 'one of ten'? I don't get it.

---

“At first I did not believe it either,” Lu Xiaofeng said, “At first I also wanted to pull him into the Eagle’s nest.”

“Coud it be that someone opposed?” Tie Jian asked.

Lu Xiaofeng nodded. “Shi Yan opposed,” he said, “Hua Manlou also disapproved.”

“Why?” Tie Jian asked.

This time he asked Hua Manlou.

Hua Manlou hesitated, and then he said slowly, “At that time I did not suspect him at all, I just felt that he was too close to Ancient Pine Hermit; it would be very difficult for him to keep secret from Ancient Pine.”

“Did you suspect Ancient Pine?” Tie Jian asked.

Hua Manlou said, “His martial art skill is extremely high, but about his school and family history, there has never been anybody with any knowledge of it.”

“He is a hermit,” Tie Jian said, “Hermits are usually like that.”

Hua Manlou said, “Before becoming a hermit, one ought to have a past, but he did not. It was as if as soon as he was born he has already become a hermit.”

“Why did Shi Yan oppose Wooden Taoist?” Tie Jian hesitantly asked.

“Because he knew that Wooden Taoist did not yield to Mei Zhenren willingly,” Lu Xiaofeng replied.

Tie Jian frowned, “Could it be that he was just like Shi He, that he did something contrary to the religious rules and hence was forced to step aside?”

“Probably yes,” Lu Xiaofeng said.

“What did he do?” Tie Jian asked.

“Shi Yan refused to say,” Lu Xiaofeng replied.

Family shames must not be spread abroad; no matter what, Wooden Taoist was his martial uncle, plus he was an elder of Wudang, one of the few great Wudang disiples.

Lu Xiaofeng continued, “Although Shi Yan is unwilling to explain, but now I can guess more or less what had happened.”

Xiao Gu of Mount Ba could not resist asking, “What did Wooden Taoist do in the past that was contrary to the religious rules?”

Lu Xiaofeng said, “Not only he took a wife on the outside, he also sire a child.”

Tie Jian’s countenance fell; he said, “Hearsay must not be trusted. This matter concerns his reputation and integrity, it must not be easily trusted even more, and must not be easily spoken out either.”

“Yes,” Lu Xiaofeng said.

“But since he already spoke out, he must be sure of it,” Sikong Zhaixing interrupted.

“Not only he must be sure, he must have evidence,” Tie Jian said.

Lu Xiaofeng did not have any evidence.

But his analysis and conclusion, even Grand Master Tie Jian could not not admit that it made a lot of sense.

-- Third Mistress Shen was Ye Lingfeng’s wife, yet she gave birth to Old Sabre Honcho’s daughter. The one she let down was Ye Lingfeng, not Old Sabre Honcho at all; why did he hate her instead? Moreover, he murdered Ye Lingfeng.

Because Old Sabre Honcho was Wooden Taoist, he was the (older male) cousin of Third Mistress Shen, but also Third Mistress Shen’s real husband.

Lu Xiaofeng said, “At that time Wooden Taoist was at the prime of his life, Third Mistress Shen was also a budding beauty …”

In front of Grand Master Tie Jian, he spoke in a very reserved manner, but his meaning was very clear.

No doubt there was an affair happening between these two [maternal] cousins. But at that time Wooden Taoist was already a prominent Wudang disciple, naturally he could not become husband and wife with her formally and openly.

“Hence he came up with a substituting scheme [orig. the plum tree withers in place of the peach tree], he had Third Mistress Shen marry Ye Lingfeng, and had Ye Lingfeng be the father of his child.”

“Why did he pick Ye Lingfeng?”

“Because Ye Lingfeng had trained swordsmanship in Wudang; moreover, it was he who personally trained him. In order to repay the master’s benevolence, the disciple naturally cannot refuse to sacrifice himself.”

But then Wooden Taoist grew old, plus he wandered outside all year long, Third Mistress Shen had nothing to do and was lonely, hence the pretense had turned into reality, she had an affair with Ye Lingfeng.

When Wooden Taoist discovered that she had given birth to a daughter, whom she was not supposed to have, plus he discovered that they were having an affair, it was only natural that he hated them to the bone.

“But he hated Wudang even more, because his disciple Shi He had also suffered similar fate, i.e. he was forced to give up the Sect Leader position.”

Originally he put his hope on Shi He, but now all hopes had become a pie in the sky. Therefore, he could only take one path.

‘Revenge’ and ‘power’; either one of these two things was enough to make people go with total abandon, disregarding risk and danger, by hook or by crook, to accomplish it.

“But this is not enough proof that Wooden Taoist is Old Sabre Honcho.”

“I can still enumerate several facts as a proof.”

When the ceremony was in progress, only he could stay and come close to Shi Yan, and only he knew the secret inside the sword hilt.

“There’s great possibility that the secret is concerning why he was forced to step down that year, hence the reason he was determined to get it.”

Concerning Wudang’s internal situation, only he was most familiar with it; hence he was able to arrange safe passage for the people to retreat after the operation was completed. Moreover, he had the authority to keep the crowd of heroes inside the main hall, so that even if they wanted to pursue, they simply were not able to.

Changjing and Changqing were both disciples under his direct supervision, only he could buy them.

Shi He had always been reclusive and arrogant, again, only he would be able to control him.

Although these several points were no more than just speculation, but they were enough to be strung together into clues.

What’s more, Lu Xiaofeng still hold an important link in his hands, “Although I have already known that Cousin is not Gu Feiyun, but all along I was not able to figure out his true identity.”

Tie Jian could not help asking, “And now you have figured it out?”

Lu Xiaofeng nodded, “Cousin is Ancient Pine.”

As soon as he said those words, everybody was stunned.

“For the past few years,” Lu Xiaofeng continued, “Wooden Taoist and Ancient Pine were as inseparable as form and shadow, they often wandered together and their whereabouts was uncertain; it’s because they often had to go back to the Mansion of Spirits.”

Xiao Gu of Mount Ba said, “In the big event at Wudang this time, everybody thought Ancient Pine would certainly come, but he just did not show up.”

“That’s because he has been imprisoned in the cellar of the Ye Family Mansion,” Lu Xiaofeng said.

“Do you have evidence to prove that he is Ancient Pine?” Tie Jian asked.

“I have seen his hands,” Lu Xiaofeng said, “His swordsmanship is not only very fine, it is also very profound; very close to Ancient Pine’s swordsmanship. His stature and facial features are even more similar to Ancient Pine’s. Just add a little beard, a few strands of grey hair, add a yellowish complexion, he would look exactly the same as Ancient Pine.”

Sikong Zhaixing said, “No wonder I always felt that Ancient Pine’s appearance is a little mystifying, turns out he never really reveal his true colors to the public.”

Tie Jian was deep in thought. He suddenly said, “There is one hole in your arguments.”

“Which one?” Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Tie Jian said, “If Wooden Taoist is really Old Sabre Honcho, why didn’t he keep his promise to meet up with you all at the House of Blues?”

Lu Xiaofeng sighed and said, “It’s because he knew that things had changed, somebody has leaked our secret.”

“Who leaked our secret?” Tie Jian asked.

Lu Xiaofeng let out a bitter laugh, “Without a doubt it’s that extra man who came from the empty sky.”

The extra man was, naturally, that big, tall, majestic looking old man.

Lu Xiaofeng said, “This matter is an absolute secret that is known only to the ten of us, why did you all bring an extra person in?”

Xiao Gu of Mount Ba asked him back, “Do you know who that man is?”

Lu Xiaofeng did not know.

Xiao Gu of Mount Ba said, “Do you know that I have a martial uncle, the Cave Master of the Thirty-Six Caves of Miao [ethnic group of southwest China] Mountain at the edge of Yunnan? He is also a hereditary tribal chieftain of Miao people.”

Lu Xiaofeng suddenly sprang up. “Are you talking about Long Meng the flying lion?” [Other than a surname, ‘long’ also means dragon, while ‘meng’ means fierce or ferocious.]

Xiao Gu of Mount Ba smiled and said, “He has not set foot on the Central Plains for a long time, no wonder even you did not recognize him.”

“And you let him in into our secret?” Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Xiao Gu of Mount Ba said, “For generations he had been overseeing the southern sky, his nobility is comparable to kings and marquis[1]; in terms of wealth, honor and glory, no one in Jianghu could surpass him. You think he would betray us? He would leak our secret?”

Lu Xiaofeng closed his mouth.

But he finally remembered who this man was; he also remembered why he always had a feeling that he had seen this man somewhere before.

---

[1] Kings and marquis – referring to nobility rank in imperial China, namely Wang (king), Gong (duke), Hou (marquis), Bo (count), Zi (viscount) and Nan (baron).

[ycb5959]

Thanks!!!!

[ycb5959]

...ycb, thanks, I'll fix it. What do you mean by 'one of ten'? I don't get it.
...

"The number of people who were privy of this plan was only ten. The rest of the people merely took orders from these ten."


Since they didn't know who was the mastermind behind the mansion of spirits, and woody is one of the top respected wulin leaders, one can just imagine the tragic ending if woody had been included in the plan...
[Come to think of it, "ten" a bit too much - how could they be certain that one of them is not involved in the mansion thingy...]

But your latest update explains it. Thanks.

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[szfong]

Thanks foxs,

I think in the end LXF will still comes out ahead as he gets to screw and marry Ye Ling and now has another wife waiting for him at his very large house filled with women he has accumulated during all his adventures. Word has it, after his final adventure, he retires from the martial arts world and he became a very successful brothel owner because of his many wives managing all his businesses while he drank all day until his liver gave out.

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, fox.

[Clown Prince]

drooling....
super big mystery!

have always felt this was the second most popular story after Ye Gu Cheng story. now i know why.

Thanks Foxs!

[foxs]

EDIT: Can't edit the title, this is not Epilogue, but actually CHAPTER 16 - Part 3 (end EDIT)

ycb, 'Oh ...' HPC, Jaya, you are welcome. szfong, why do I think you are talking about Wei Xiaobao? Clown, I didn't even know which one is the most popular, which one is next ... and which one is the least popular?

---

He suddenly felt his mouth tasted sour and bitter, as if he had just eaten a big pot of rotten meat.

Tie Jian said, “Now we only have one way to prove whether your theory is correct.”

“Which way?” Xiao Gu of Mount Ba asked.

Tie Jian said, “Ask Shi Yan to tell us the secret in the sword hilt.”

Everybody agreed. “If Wooden Taoist really stepped down because of his affair with Third Mistress Shen, it would also be the proof that he is Old Sabre Honcho.”

Tie Jian said, “Even if Shi Yan is reluctant to divulge his elder’s private business, under the circumstances, he cannot refuse to speak anymore.”

“Has he gone back to Wudang?” Lu Xiaofeng asked.

“He left before dawn,” Tie Jian replied.

“Isn’t Wooden Taoist still at Wudang?” Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Tie Jian said, “We figured as well that there might be people who mean to harm him, hence we have Wang Shidai coming with him.”

Xiao Gu of Mount Ba said, “In that case, we must hurry to Wudang and ask him to explain everything clearly.”

Lu Xiaofeng sighed. He muttered as if he was talking to himself, “I just hope that we won’t be too late.”

Suddenly there was a voice outside answering him, “Now it is too late.”

Wang Shidai sat down first, wiped the perspiration from his face, caught his breath, and then slowly said, “Wudang’s thirteenth generation Sect Leader Shi Yan has passed away a moment before noon today, the fourteenth of the fourth month, at the age of forty-seven.”

Nobody moved, nobody talked.

Everyone’s heart sank. After a long time, someone asked, “How did he die?”

Wang Shidai said, “He had a chronic ailment, and it was very serious.”

“What was it?” Tie Jian asked.

Wang Shidai replied, “It was an infection in his liver. Wooden Taoist has already figured out that he only had about a hundred days left of his life.”

Lu Xiaofeng was emotionally touched. “So Wooden Taoist examined him?” he asked.

Wang Shidai said, “Wooden Taoist’s medical knowledge is quite profound, I also have a bit of medical expertise.”

Lu Xiaofeng asked, “In your opinion, did he really die because of his illness?”

“I have no doubt,” Wang Shidai replied.

Lu Xiaofeng slowly sat down again, he seemed to be unable to stand.

Tie Jian’s countenance looked very heavy as well, “Did he leave any last message, any will as for who would succeed him as Wudang Sect Leader?”

Wang Shidai said, “We originally thought that he would leave any posthumous writing, but found none.”

Tie Jian’s countenance looked even heavier.

He was well aware that according to Wudang’s bylaws, when the Sect Leader died due to particular accident and did not leave any will, the Sect Leader position would be assumed by the most senior person of the School.

And the most senior person in Wudang right now was Wooden Taoist.

Tie Jian heaved a long sigh. “I can’t believe that thirty years later, he can still become Wudang Sect Leader,” he said.

With a rueful smile Lu Xiaofeng responded, “I am afraid he had already expected it.”

In their hearts they all understood that without a definite proof, there was nothing they could do to him.

THE END (EDIT: Not ...)

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

Is this already the end? There are many hanging questions left.

[LuDongBin]

Thanks foxs.

Two things:

1. For a moment I was lost. I did not recall Wooden Taoist having left. I think it was due to a formatting style

"It was an elegant and quiet study room, located in a very secure and secret place."
If there were some dashes before this I would have known that it was a start of a new section like - - - - -

2. No this can't be the end of the novel?

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[Clown Prince]

this is really the end?
then why did he go to all that trouble since he already knew Shi Yan was gonna die?

[Ren Wo Xing]

foxs, I think you must have a truncated copy, or accidentally put in 'the end'. This is only halfway through the second-to-last chapter, and there is final chapter as well. Right after your translation should be the lines:

武当的掌门，是绝不容任何人轻犯的。

　　现在他们连一点证据都没有，就算木道人真是老刀把子，他们也无能为力。

　　王十袋黯然道：“石雁自己虽然也知道死期不远，却还是想不到会如此突然。”

　　陆小凤道：“他临死时难道连一句话都没有说？”

　　王十袋道：“只说了一句。”

　　陆小凤道：“他说什么？”

　　王十袋道：“他要我告诉你，你猜得不错。”

[etc]

[shirak]

Huh??? Did you make a typo, foxs? I'm pretty certain that this is not the epilogue and the ending of Mansion of Spirits.....in fact, the ending scene was described by Beef Soup in LXF7 and it doesn't match.....

[szfong]

foxs,

This can't be the end...

Can you take a look at this copy?

http://www.xiexingcun.com/gulong/25/index.htm

Thanks...

[muliono]

Hahaha... April Fools' in May?? foxs pulling off a prank on everyone??

[K2Grey]

A++++ would be pranked again

[ycb5959]

I remember wooden priest killed the 'fake' Honcho. Then it cut to these fellas discussing Woody and Honcho.
Either foxs missed out something in between or Gu Long was really really drunk...

I am with the comments on the 'end' - don't think this is the right ending.
[Correct ending - Ximen Chuixue was honcho... or was it Hua Manlou?]