The Sword And The Exquisiteness (Volumes IV and V)

[eeyore]

twist, turning and surprise all the way...

I hope Yu Peiyu will end up with Zhu Lei'Er although Lin Daiyu is alright, but... i feel sorry for Zhu Lei'Er if Peiyu leave here...

at least this gu long heroes, not a player and drunkard...

[siryu]

more and more interesting!!!! so twisted and so many surprises.. cool!

tks athena!! keep

[Goofy]

Dr. Goofy prescribes a cup of ginseng tea to help emotional imbalance.

Added with a sprinkle of good wishes kisses and teddy-bear hugs.

Hope Ms. Athena be all right soon.

Twist of the twists! Help from the enemy!!!

I can understand why Yang wanted to help Yu - b/c he wanted to expose the murderer of the fake Tang. So the duper was being duped now, I like that.

Dr. Goofy's prediction:

Thus begin the downfall of the imposter gang. Yu Fanghe shall suffer this loss after so much hard work putting in this affair. And from now, Yu Peiyu would be on his tails, revenge and destroy....

Good chapter Athena. I like to read your translation, but your presence here is also equally important.

[charbydis]

Even though I think that Lin Dai Yu should get Yu Pei Yu, I think that there is a higher chance of him ending up with Zhu Lei-er. They seem more and more attached to each other. Hope she gets less bratty in the following novels.

I really like this twisty plot and for once, there are no major beautiful and scheming women as villians. (typical of Gu Long's novels)

To Athena:
Since Goofy is prescribing you ginseng tea, I well as might offer you cypress and cedarwood fragrances to relieve your stress and tension. Try smelling some lemongrass to get rid of headaches and nervous exhuastion (which i bet everyone needs now cos of mid-semester exams )

Thank you for finishing the book for us. Even though I don't know what is going on, I hope you cheer up soon! Besides, Mid-Autumn Festival is near! You need cheefulness to eat lots and lots of mooncake!

[TigerWong]

Originally posted by charbydis
Thank you for finishing the book for us.

Still 8 more chapters, and lots of twists, left in Volume 5.

[JiaMoZhi]

Originally posted by TigerWong
Still 8 more chapters, and lots of twists, left in Volume 5.

Nice. I remember that in the old thread Athena said that she did not like the ending (which wasn't even written by Gu Long), so I had low hopes. But maybe some fans will like the ending and some others won't. Since I'm not that difficult I'll probably like it, hopefully. The story so far is awesome.

[Goofy]

Does this mean the story is almost finished. Somehow, I feel there are a lot of looseends. What seem to be different from DGSD is that in here, sure there are tons of top fighters, but they disappeared so quickly and there are no definite conclusion for many of them.

however, lots can happen next so I shouldn't be grumbling.

BTW, Zhu is getting a bit too whiney for my taste. Although I can understand her plight, it is not fair to make more trouble for Yu when he already had too much to chew on.

He seemed to out of hot pan into fire somehow both in women matter and other activities...

I would like to prescribe him a cup of strong ginger tea with drops of brandy....

[JigSta]

more twists and turns!? my poor heart cant handle any more...

[eeyore]

Originally posted by JiaMoZhi
Nice. I remember that in the old thread Athena said that she did not like the ending (which wasn't even written by Gu Long), so I had low hopes. But maybe some fans will like the ending and some others won't. Since I'm not that difficult I'll probably like it, hopefully. The story so far is awesome.

Ok, I'm kinda freak here.. if Athena doesn't like the ending.. hm... but I'm hooked with the story now..

well, if it's not a good/happy ending, I hope at least, at least, it's a satisfying ending...

[Du Gu seeking a win]

Originally posted by eeyore
Ok, I'm kinda freak here.. if Athena doesn't like the ending.. hm... but I'm hooked with the story now..

well, if it's not a good/happy ending, I hope at least, at least, it's a satisfying ending...

#
Let's hope there is any ending at all (regarding Athena sulking from this site)

[Yang Guo]

Originally posted by Du Gu seeking a win
#
Let's hope there is any ending at all (regarding Athena sulking from this site)

You mean isn't?

[optimus]

With Athena's sparse participation, this thread is awfully quite now. She did say that she'll finish this translation for us.... just doesn't feel the same without her usual presence. Her well being is the upmost important and hope she can recover from her emotional incident. Best wishes & many thanks to you Athena...

Now.. on to the usual subject

Still 8 more chapters, and lots of twists, left in Volume 5.

Can't believe there are only 8 chapters left. Seems like there are still many loose ends, issues, and misteries left. Are they all gonna be covered in these 8 chapters??? Whatever the ending is, I hope it's not one of those abrupt and dangling ending.

[Athena]

Chapter 33 Competing In Wit

When Zhu Lei'Er heard the words of Yu Peiyu she was stunned, she started to weep again and said:"Am I wrong? Should I not have said those words? There is only Lin Daiyu in your heart? Am I wrong in that?"
Yu Peiyu did not say a word.
After crying for some time Zhu Lei'Er continued:"Maybe I am really wrong. I like to cry and I talk too much. I say the wrong things to anger you, why won't you continue without me."
Yu Peiyu did not say a thing, he just gently took her hand and pulled her along with him. Sometimes not talking is the best method.
Yu Peiyu knew that they would come out at that abandoned temple on the other side of this secret tunnel. That is where Yu Fanghe captured Yu Fanghe and killed Tang Yu. That is also the place where Yu Peiyu met Guo Pianxian for the first time, he also remembered that poor young girl Zhong Jing. What happened to them? Are they still alive?
He also thought of Silver Blossom and her cruel punishment for her wicked ways. The images of Golden Blossm, Iron Blossom, Jin Yanzi appeared in front of him.
Of course, he could not forget about Lin Daiyu. Yu Peiyu sighed, he was thinking:The unhappy events they encountered, are those really my fault?
Every girl he met so far had met with tragedy, why?
It is said that beautiful women bring disaster with them, does that go for handsome men too.
Yu Peiyu did not know whether he should laugh loudly or cry sadly now. He held on to another sad girl now and the two of them stayed quiet and continued to walk.
Yu Peiyu gently pushed the fake wall aside and was welcomed by laughter:"The two of you are late. I have been waiting for some time now."
Yu Peiyu pulled Zhu Lei'Er behind him and backed backwards with a few steps.
Zhu Lei'Er exclaimed:"Yang Zijiang, why do you keep following us!"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Perhaps it is fate that we should meet again."
He was sitting on the floor, with a bottle of wine and plate of steamed vegetables on his leg. There was a candle and flint next to him on the floor.
He smiled:"I took this plate from the Tang Manor, although it is cold but it still quite tasty. Come join me and drink some."
Yu Peiyu just looked at him for a moment and said with a smile:"Thank you."
Yu Peiyu sat down and poured himself a cup of wine and drank without hesitation. Yang Zijiang looked at him and laughed:"Brother Yu, your martial arts are passable and you're quite handsome although I am not bad looking myself. But what I truly admire is your ability to stay calm and tranquil no matter what situation, that is something I cannot do myself."
He turned to Zhu Lei'Er now and smiled:"Miss Zhu, don't worry there is no poison in the wine. I know many ways to kill but using poison is not one of them."
Zhu Lei'Er looked at him casually and said:"I just know one method in killing and that is to use poison. I can randomly use it and my victims won't even know what hit them. When they find out that they are poisoned it is too late and have no idea who killed them."
She now smiled to Yang Zijiang:"Maybe there is poison in your cup already now."
If the same words would have been said by someone else Yang Zijiang would laugh in that person's face. But the speaker now was the daughter of the once dreaded Lady Zhu of the Palace of Enchantment, that made everything different.
Yang Zijiang looked at his cup for awhile and smiled:"If there really was poison you wouldn't tell me, would you?"
Zhu Lei'Er said sweetly:"Why won't you drink up?"
Yang Zijiang was a bit stunned and did not drink the wine. Even though he was quite sure there was no venom in it.
Zhu Lei'Er said:"Aren't you supposed to be a very courageous man?"
Yang Zijiang said:"Normally I am, but when I'm provoked I turn into a coward."
Zhu Lei'Er took his cup from his hands and poured the wine into the cup of Yu Peiyu, she smiled to Yu Peiyu:"It is pity to waste such a good wine, would you like to drink it?"
Yu Peiyu smiled and drank the wine without hesitation.
Zhu Lei'Er smiled:"There was no poison at all in the wine, see! You must feel awfully awkward now."
Yang Zijiang stayed the same without looking awkward and laughed:"Being a bit cautious in life doesn't hurt at all. Furthermore the host should allow the guest to drink first."
He took the bottle and poured another cup for himself and said:"Now it is my turn."
Zhu Lei'Er smiled:"By the way there is no poison on the cup."
Yang Zijiang looked at his cup for a moment and smiled:"I have had too much already, I will pass."
Zhu Lei'Er smiled sweetly:"When I told you that there was poison you wouldn't believe, now I am saying that there isn't poison you don't believe either. What does it take to convince you?"
Yang Zijiang said:"No matter what you say I won't drink now."
He put down his cup and said softly to himself:"I saved her life, but she ruined my mood to drink. I think I won't save anyone anymore in the future."
Zhu Lei'Er now said sternly:"Nobody told you to save us! You killed Tang Yue, caused Golden Blossom to commit suicide and you also murdered Iron Blossom. Why won't you kill us too?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Does killing you really please you?"
Zhu Lei'Er scoffed:"Well, you're smart enough not to mess with us. Or else you might find out we're not that easy to deal with."
Yang Zijiang said:"I select my victims on basis whether they deserve to die, not on whether they are easy to deal with or not."
He looked seriously now and added:"If a certain person can betray his father, brothers and sisters just to be with the woman he loves, does that man deserve to live?"
Zhu Lei'Er said:"You and your friends forced, tricked him to betray his family!"
Yang Zijiang asked:"Can I successfully force or trick you to harm Yu Peiyu?"
Zhu Lei'Er said loudly:"Of course not!"
Yang Zijiang said:"You see what I mean, if you're determined about something nobody can force you to do anything. If Tang Yue was really loyal to his family he wouldn't betray his family, even if we promised him the entire world."
Zhu Lei'Er was a bit taken by his remark but soon said:"How about Golden Blossom? Why did you....."
Yang Zijiang interrupted:"Golden Blossom commited suicide because Tang Yue was dead. I did not touch her that day when Tang Yue died, there are plenty of dumb women like Golden Blossom in the world who commit suicide that easily. Does that mean I am responsible to for their deaths?"
Zhu Lei'Er scoffed:"How easy you shift the responsibility away from yourself? Does that mean you are a good man?"
Yang Zijiang said:"I wouldn't dare to say that. But I will never kill an innocent man."
Zhu Lei'Er looked at him for a moment and continued:"What about Iron Blossom? Why did you kill her?"
Yang Zijiang answered:"Iron Blossom? Who told you I killed her?"
Zhu Lei'Er said:"I did."
Yang Zijiang said:"Did you actually see me kill him? Have you seen her body? How do you know she is dead?"
Zhu Lei'Er sneered:"Irrelevant! I know you had something to do with her disappearance. She is probably dead."
Yang Zijiang said:"If she isn't dead?"
Zhu Lei'Er said:"If...if she is still alive, I will swallow this bottle of green liquor."
Yang Zijiang laughed:"You cannot swallow this bottle. If people see you they will wonder why this young girl is looking that green."
Zhu Lei'Er said angrilly:"Who says I look green?"
Yang Zijiang said calmly:"You are already a green eyed monster, how would you look like if you swallow this entire bottle of green wine."
Zhu Lei'Er was utterly dumbfounded by this man, she did not know what to say to him. She stared at him angrilly and in the end she just laughed:"I lose....you're one formidable shrew. I shiver at the thought if you were actually a woman."
Yu Peiyu laughed:"Brother Yang, I take it you're here for another reason except debating with Miss Zhu."
Yang Zijiang was a bit taken by Yu Peiyu's remark, Zhu Lei'Er tried so hard to dumbfound him with no luck. But Yu Peiyu managed to stun him with one mere remark.
Yang Zijiang laughed now:"Now I understand the saying Barking dogs don't bite! I will now look at brother Yu with a new perspective."
Yu Peiyu just kept smiling friendly.
Yang Zijiang now looked serious and said:"I am here, because I know brother Yu is a true gentleman."
Yu Peiyu answered:"You're too kind."
Yang Zijiang said:"I really admire your tranquility and ....."
Zhu Lei'Er said loudly:"Get on with what you want to say, he does not need your flattery."
Yang Zijiang smiled dryly and said:"I just want to ask brother Yu one question, I hope you can tell me the truth."
Yu Peiyu said:"Let me hear that question first."
Yang Zijiang said:"I just want to know who killed that Tang Wushuang. Was it really Miss Tang Qi? What was her motive? Did she see through his disguise? And how did you come to know about this?"
Yu Peiyu smiled:"That is not one question, but five."
Yang Zijiang looked at Yu Peiyu and said:"Very well, I would like to ask brother Yu to answer my five questions."
Yu Peiyu looked earnestly and said:"Brother Yang, since you have asked me this sincerely I cannot refuse your request. However......"
Yang Zijiang asked:"However what?"
Yu Peiyu did not speak anymore and just shook his head.
Zhu Lei'Er smiled:"Don't you understand? He cannot tell you the truth so the best way is to keep quiet. Now I know what the best method is in dealing with shrews."
Yang Zijiang sternly said:"You refuse to tell me!"
Zhu Lei'Er said:"What are you planning to do?"
Yang Zijiang looked angry and pale now, Zhu Lei'Er was getting nervous and knew that if he attacked now it would not be easy to ward off his attacks.
However Yang Zijiang smiled:"If that is the case, forget I ever asked."
Zhu Lei'Er was a bit surprised and said:"Why so friendly all of a sudden?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"I really want to become friends with brother Yu and I hope he can join me for a cup of wine in my home."
Zhu Lei'Er said with surprise:"You have a home too?"
Yang Zijiang laughed:"What is so strange about having a place of my own. Most people do have their own homes."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Where is your house?"
Yang Zijiang said:"It is quite near and my wife is preparing a few dishes, I think, as we speak."
Zhu Lei'Er was surprised again and said:"You have a wife?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"What is so strange about that?"
Zhu Lei'Er sighed:"I'm totally confused now. You never ceases to amaze me, I really want to meet your wife. I wonder why she would marry a strange man like you."
Yang Zijiang smiled to Yu Peiyu:"Does brother Yu have the time now?"
Yu Peiyu just laughed lightly, Zhu Lei'Er interrupted:"I know he is very interested in meeting your wife too."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Excellent, I think brother Yu won't defy the wishes of Miss Zhu?"
Yu Peiyu's curiosity was also aroused, he began to see the different side of Yang Zijiang.....the funny and sincere side of him.
Yang Zjiang's house was indeed quite close after walking for about a hour or so they saw a thacthed house. There was smoke coming out of the chimney.
Zhu Lei'Er said:"Your wife is very dilligent, preparing breakfast for you already."
Yang Zijiang said:"That is because she knows we have guests."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"How does she know we would come today?"
Yang Zijiang said seriously:"If I would not come home with two esteemed guests, she won't allow me to enter the house."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why? Does she know us?"
Yang Zijiang smiled and shook his head.
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why won't you answer?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"I'm just following brother Yu's example of not talking."
Zhu Lei'Er pouted:"I will see for myself anyway."
The surroundings were very idyllic and nice, at first sight there was nobody strange or dangerous about this place.
When they entered the house, they saw that the table was spreaded already and there was food on the table.
Zhu Lei'Er sat down and started to eat, she had not eaten for an entire day and was really quite hungry.
She smiled:"Your wife really knows how to cook. You're are very fortunate to have found such a caring wife."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"I am afraid that these dishes will not be to your liking."
Yu Peiyu asked:"Where is Madame Yang, if I may ask?"
Yang Zijiang said:"I think she must be in the kitchen preparing some dishes."
There was noise coming from the kitchen, Yu Peiyu said:"There are so many dishes already here, we wouldn't dare to impose on you."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"She really wants her guests to taste her food."
Yu Peiyu smiled:"Tell Madame Yang to join us."
Yang Zijiang said:"Very well."
It was very strange that these three people would sit down at the same table and eat together. One was a misunderstood young heroic gentleman fighting for a noble goal. The second one was a strange young man with mysterious intentions and third one was the daughter of the late Lady Zhu.
If anyone would see them here together they would probably be to scared to even stay to watch them. Because anyone of the these three are formidable characters in the present realm of martial arts.
Yang Zijiang smiled:"It is time that you would show yourself to our guests."
A voice very clear and pretty said:"After cooking these prawns I will come out."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"That voice sounds so familiar."
Yang Zijiang laughed:"Can't you tell by the voice?"
Zhu Lei'Er shook her head and said:"There are too many additional noises in the kitchen I cannot hear clearly."
At this time a young woman walked out of the kitchen and she had a plate of prawns in her hand.
Zhu Lei'Er and Yu Peiyu were stunned to see this woman here.
The wife of Yang Zijiang is Iron Blossom.
They were expecting to be in a surprise but this was even beyond their wildest dreams.
Iron Blossom smiled sweetly:"I hope you won't mind if it is not that good."
Yu Peiyu stuttered:"You...you're too mo...modest, Mada....Madame Yang."
Although he always remained calm and clear under the most dire circumstances but this even shocked him and he had no idea what to say. The only thing he could thing of was to put something in his mouth to prevent himself from saying the wrong things.
When Iron Blossom heard Yu Peiyu calling her [Madame Yang], she blushed.
At this time Zhu Lei'Er loudly asked:"You're actually married to him?"
Iron Blossom smiled:"Well, I have to get married eventually."
Zhu Lei'Er shook her head and sighed:"Why would you like to marry a strange character like him."
Yang Zijiang laughed:"Everyone to his own! I mean if every woman has the same taste like Miss Zhu then brother Yu would have a lot of female admirers."
He added:"I wonder if this wine is as good as the green wine of earlier."
Zhu Lei'Er sighed:"You don't have to make me angry, I lose I am jealous little girl. I know that."
Suddenly they heard horses galloping this way, Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Are you expecting guests?"
Yang Zijiang said:"It seems so."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"They must come from afar."
Yang Zijiang said:"Yes, I think so."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Who are those people?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"How do you know I would know these people?"
Zhu Lei'Er scoffed:"Probably those fiendish friens of yours."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"How did you guess?"
The horses came closer and closer to the house of Yang Zijiang, Zhu Lei'Er looked at Yu Peiyu to see what his intentions were. But Yu Peiyu just smiled and did not say a thing.
Yang Zijiang loudly praised:"Yu Peiyu.....Yu Peiyu, I really admire your courage."
Yu Peiyu smiled:"Thank you."
Yang Zijiang said:"Only you with extraordinary courage would dare to come to my home? Aren't you afraid I will sell you out to those men?"
Yu Peiyu smiled:"I love the surroundings here and I enjoyed Madame Yang's cooking. And I don't think you're the kind of man who will sell me out."
Yang Zijiang said:"You shouldn't blindly trust people, brother Yu."
Yu Peiyu said calmly:"If you wanted to harm me, you would have done so a long time ago. There is no need for all of this, is it?"
Yang Zijiang laughed:"You shouldn't trust me alltogether! I'm not a good man."
Yu Peiyu said sincerely:"I think you are a decent person."
Zhu Lei'Er was very much bemused by this, one was self-reproaching the other was consoling him. Just half a day ago these two young men could be said were mortal enemies.
However Zhu Lei'Er still did not trust this Yang Zijiang. But it was too late, the horses stopped in front of Yang Zijiang's house. One of the riders called:"Is someone here?"
Yang Zijiang said:"You know I'm here, why pretend?"
One of the riders smiled friendly:"We wouldn't dare to barge into the home of young master Yang."
Yang Zijiang frowned and said:"Enough formalities, enter!"
Three men came in with three large boxes big enough to put in grown men.
One of the men walked in with a big smile, Zhu Lei'Er thought she had seen this man before. She remembered that she did see him with Yu Fanghe at her home and Yu Peiyu saw him with the entourage of Yu Fanghe watching Yu and Tang Wushuang playing go.
When he saw Yu Peiyu and Zhu Lei'Er his smile was gone.
Yang Zijiang asked:"Have you brought the things I want?"
One of the other men said:"Yes, it is in here."
Yang Zijiang said:"Are you sure?"
The man said:"Absolutely, we personally saw to it."
But they saw Yu Peiyu too and they did looked at him with bad intentions in their eyes.
Yang Zijiang deliberately said loudly:"Oh! You have met each other before?"
The man stuttered:"Not...not...really."
Yang Zijiang laughed:"Let me introduce you to each other."
He pointed to one of the man and said:"This is Mountain Splitting Sabre Song Gang. This is Tiger Subdueing Fists Zhao Qiang. It is said that they are famous martial artists."
Both Zhao Qiang and Song Gang said with a proud smile:"You're too kind."
Yang Zijiang coldly added:"In my opinion this mountain splitting sabre is only fit to chop wood and tiger subdueing fists can never subdue tigers. Even cats might be a problem."
Both Zhao Qiang and Song Gang were furious now but did not dare to show it and really tried their best to surpress their anger. Zhu Lei'Er was amused and felt pity for them.
Yang Zijiang pointed at the third man and said:"He has somewhat higher martial arts than these two. He is called The Jade Celestial Sabre Cao Ziying. That sabre of his may not be able to slash through everything, but it might be worth a few taels of silver at the market. But his stances are not too bad."
Cao Ziying looked pleased and smiled:"Thank you, young master Yang."
Yang Zijiang added:"But people also say that you're hypocritical fiend and your head is filled with dirty tricks. But you still have a long way to go if you want follow the footsteps of your ancestor Cao Cao."
Cao Ziying was still smiling but his smile was not that radiant anymore.
Yu Peiyu said:"It is my pleasure to meet all of you."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Did the three of you came here to take our lives?"
Cao Ziying smiled:"That really depends on young master Yang, we follow his commands."
Zhu Lei'Er looked at Yang Zijiang.
Yang Zijiang said indifferently:"I don't care whom you want to kill, it really depends on your own abilities. Now there is food on the table, do you expect me to feed you personally."
Cao Ziying, Zhao Qiang and Song Gang looked pleased now.
Zhu Lei'Er said angrilly:"You really have intentions to betray us!"
Yang Zijiang sighed:"I said I was not a good person, but brother Yu wouldn't believe my words."
Yu Peiyu smiled:"I won't blame anyone."
The three men looked at each other and Cao Ziying said:"In that case...."
Iron Blossom interrupted:"I don't care what you want to do! But first you have to finish all the food on the table, I have stood in the kitchen the entire morning to cook this!"
Cao Ziying said coldly:"Miss is...."
Yang Zijiang said:"Not Miss but Madame, Madame Yang. My wife."
Cao Ziying immediately said with a smile:"I would love to eat Madame Yang's quisine. I will eat all the dishes after business first."
Iron Blossom said:"That way the food will get cold, it won't be that good anymore. And if anyone of you would die that means that the mood will be ruined."
Yang Zijiang sighed:"I think it is best that you won't upset my wife. Furthermore upsetting women is not really a wise move, I suggest you would eat first."
Iron Blossom smiled:"Indeed, eat up. You might get some extra energy."
She went into the kitchen to get extra chopsticks, cups and bowls.
In the beginning Zhao Qiang and Song Gang ate with difficulty but because they were quite hungry now, so they soon ate heartily.
Yang Zijiang smiled:"If they fight as quick as they eat, brother Yu is in big trouble."
Iron Blossom gently slapped him and laughed:"What kind of host are you? You should urge them to eat some more."
The two of them were joking around as an ordinary couple much to the discomfort of Zhu Lei'Er. She originally thought that Iron Blossom was planning something for these three, but it did not seem like that.
Zhu Lei'Er saw with one look that there was no poison in the food or on the bowls, chopsticks and such.
Zhu Lei'Er felt very worried and wondered what to do, these three men were not a problem. But Yang Zijiang was.
She saw that Yu Peiyu was sitting and enjoying this meal very much, she asked with sarcasm:"Have you never eaten prawns before in your life?"
He drank a cup of wine and laughed:"I think I won't have the chance to eat such delicious prawns anymore in my life. I can't passed out on this opportunity."
Zhu Lei'Er almost jumped up with anger, but when she realised that after all this time Yu Peiyu now lost to Yu Fanghe she almost started to sob sadly.
Yu Peiyu put a piece of duck in her ricebowl and said gently:"Try this duck cooked with tea-leaves, it is a special dish famous only in Sichuan province. Not as good as Beijing duck in my opinion, but not bad either."
She quietly ate the duck, it tasted very good but she could not really enjoy it. In fact to her it tasted bitter.
Yang Zijiang laughed:"It seems it is a wise choice to marry a woman who can cook wonderfully. Miss Zhu, you really should learn how to cook."
Zhu Lei'Er said hatefully:"I think you have married the wrong woman."
Yang Zijiang asked:"Why do you say that?"
Zhu Lei'Er said:"The prawns are in my opinion not very good."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Next time I would love to taste your cookery Miss Zhu."
Zhu Lei'Er coldly said:"There will be time for that soon enough."
She suddenly asked:"What is that you and your lackeys want from Yu Peiyu anyway?"
Yang Zijiang said:"The chancellor went to the Family Li Village to look for a certain object, but he couldn't find it. He was also surprised to find out that both of you were alive and not killed in the fire, so he thought that that object might be in your hands."
Cao Ziying kept coughing the entire time as to remind Yang Zijiang not to reveal any secrets to these people.
Yang Zijiang ignored his coughing and continued:"Besides chancellor Yu has gone through great difficulty to investigate the antecedents of brother Yu, but in vain. Could brother Yu just be like the Sun Wukong, exploded from a rock?"
Yu Peiyu smiled:"But the antecedents of brother Yang are also very mysterious."
Yang Zijiang laughed:"Maybe you don't know, but at least the chancellor knows."
Yu Peiyu just nodded.
Yang Zijiang said:"You're very mysterious, your martial arts are good. And you keep giving the chancellor problems, it is naturally that he wants to get rid of you."
Yu Peiyu smiled:"The chancellor has a too high of an opinion of me."
Cao Ziying, Zhao Qiang and Song Gang turned pale, Iron Blossom looked at her husband with love.
Zhu Lei'Er took advantage of this opportunity to put poison on the plate of ribs, she was a great user of poison and nobody saw a thing.
However nobody touched the plate of ribs, she was so anxious. She deliberately picked a rib and ate it, she softly said:"Very good. Not too salty and not too spicy."
But again none of the people touched the plate of ribs, Yu Peiyu smiled:"I would like taste it, since you say it is that good."
Those who are supposed to eat it are not eating, those who really must not eat this are going to eat it.
Zhu Lei'Er was almost going mad and quickly used her chopsticks to prevent Yu Peiyu from eating, she pouted:"Don't eat those greasy things, aren't you afraid of becoming fat. I hate men with big bellies."
Yang Zijiang laughed:"Some men are detestable even without big bellies, take for instance brother Cao here. I can't stand him and he is as skinny as one can be."
Zhu Lei'Er smiled to him:"Why aren't you eating?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"I'm muslim, I am not allowed to eat pork."
Zhu Lei'Er turned to Iron Blossom and smiled:"It is waste to leave such a delicious plate or ribs untouched."
Iron Blossom said:"I will feed it to the dogs later on."
Cao Ziying initially wanted to pick a piece but when she heard the words of Iron Blossom, he put down his chopsticks and smiled:"I wanted to taste it, but I don't want to steal away the food of the dogs."
Zhu Lei'Er was furious but she couldn't force force them to eat those ribs, could she?
Cao Ziying touched his belly and smiled:"I'm full, I can't eat another thing."
Yang Zijiang said casually:"Well now, you can do what you have to do now."
Cao Ziying said with a smile:"I will help Madame Yang cleaning up the table."
Yang Zijiang said:"No need, I just love to hear the noise of breaking plate and bowls and such."
Cao Ziying said:"In that case, please forgive us for being rude."
He looked at Song Gang and Zhao Qiang, he sinisterly smiled to Yu Peiyu:"I advise you to come with us peacefully."
All of three of them stood up and readied themselves.
Yang Zijiang pulled Iron Blossom back and smiled:"I don't want your new dress getting dirty."
Yu Peiyu stood up too and told Zhu Lei'Er:"This doesn't concern you either, go over there first."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"This isn't a new dress and I'm not afraid that it will get dirty."
She raised her palm and attacked Cao Ziying, Cao expected that much and avoided that blow. He said with smile:"If you're not willing....."
Suddenly he broke out in spasms and fell down, Zhao Qiang and Song Gang followed his example and broke out in convulsions too.
In a moment all three of them were dead.
Yang Zijiang laughed:"Why all the charades after a good meal."
Iron Blossom said:"They should entertain us, after all I cooked a good meal for them."
Yang Zijiang sighed:"The silver moss really is something special....."
Zhu Lei'Er looked at him and exclaimed:"Silver moss?"
Yang Zijiang said:"Yes, only Silver Blossom is capable of turning the silver moss into a powerful poison."
This type of poison was often used by emperors, they would bestow this poison to concubines, ministers who have become expendable.
Together with the crane's red dot and the silver kiss, these are three most famous used poison in history.
Even Yu Peiyu has heard of this type of rare poison too and asked:"Was the poison in the wine?"
Iron Blossom answered:"Don't worry it was not in the wine nor in the food."
She picked up the cup Cao Ziying used and smiled.
Zhu Lei'Er laughed:"Wonderful! The two of you are really made for each other!
Both of you like to trick people."
She turned to Yu Peiyu and smiled:"It seems you were correct, they really had no bad intentions towards us."
Yang Zijiang said:"Not necessarily."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"Well, if not why would you kill these three."
Yang Zijiang said:"I killed them because I cannot stand them, if one day I cannot stand the both of you I will kill you too."
Zhu Lei'Er laughed:"You really are strange aren't you? Normal people like to hear people praise about themselves, only you like to be mocked."
Yang Zijiang said:"I am not a good man, I like it when people say that I am a fiend."
Iron Blossom laughed:"He got scolded a lot when he was young. If he isn't scolded for three days, he will get uncomfortable all of a sudden. That is why I married him, I like to scold people."
Zhu Lei'Er laughed:"You really are made for each other. I truly envy you."
Yang Zijiang said:"Well if you envy her, won't you be my wife too?"
Zhu Lei'Er smiled:"I'm afraid not, and you have a wife already. Otherwise..."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"The more the merrier."
Iron Blossom laughed:"I wonder if he can put with two wives scolding him."
Zhu Lei'Er pouted:"Unfortunately, I don't like to scold people."
Yang Zijiang said:"Oh! You're like me, you like to be scolded."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"Here you go again, after just saying you're a decent man, now you're becoming all cheeky again."
Yang Zijiang said seriously:"I am not a decent man, if I was decent I would continue to carry out Yu Fanghe's orders and stay loyal to him."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"So in other words, if you kill us you are really a decent man."
Yang Zijiang said:"Not necessarily, I only have to seal your acupoints and put in these boxes and present you to Yu Fanghe."
Zhu Lei'Er looked at those boxes and thought she would easily fit in one of those boxes.
She asked:"What is in them?"
Yang Zijiang said:"It is a gift for Madame Hai Tang from Yu Fanghe."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"What kind of gift?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Care to guess, Miss Zhu?"
Zhu Lei'Er said:"I am not Zhuge Liang, how should I know?"
Yang Zijiang said:"You have seen the contents of these boxes before...."
Yu Peiyu laughed:"May I guess?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Of course."
Yu Peiyu said:"I think there are two humans in the box, correct?"
Yang Zijiang said:"Hmm!"
Yu Peiyu continued:"A man and a woman?"
Yang Zijiang answered:"Hmm!"
Yu Peiyu said:"Guo Pianxian and Zhong Jing?"
Yang Zijiang looked at Yu Peiyu with amazement, he now sighed deeply:"No wonder Yu Fanghe wants to get rid of you. If you were my enemy I would also be restless."
Zhu Lei'Er exclaimed:"Is that Guo fellow really in here?"
Yang Zijiang said:"Yes, he is."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"How did he end up here?"
Yang Zijiang said:"He passed out by the smoke that day in the Family Li Village and someone found him and put him in the box."
Zhu Lei'Er walked over and wanted to take a look in the box, but Yang Zijiang quickly sat on the box and calmly said:"Only Madame Hai Tang is allowed to open this box."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Who said that?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"The chancellor of Wulin."
Zhu Lei'Er exclaimed:"Ha! Now you listen to him."
Yang Zijiang said:"Hmm!"
Zhu Lei'Er said earnestly:"Yang Zijiang, tell us. Are you a friend of ours, are are you just another lackey of Yu Fanghe?"
Yang Zijiang asked:"What are the advantages of being your friend?"
Zhu Lei'Er was a bit stunned:"There are plenty advantages, I can't name so many at once."
Yang Zijiang laughed:"Shall I name them for you? One, you can join me during meals. Two, if I have nothing to do I can save you lot. Three.....hahahah there are too many to mention, but I would rather pass on these advantages if you don't mind."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"So you admit you're a lackey of Yu Fanghe."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"I'm no lackey."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"What do you mean?"
Yang Zijiang said:"I'm just me. I have no friends, and I am not any lackey. I just do what I like and please."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"So you act on your own interests."
Yang Zijiang said:"Absolutely correct! I like what you say."
Zhu Lei'Er was furious and did not know what to say. Suddenly they could hear a carriage coming their way from afar.
Yang Zijiang said:"I don't have any friends, but I do have a lot guests all of a sudden."
He suddenly flew up and kicked those three bodies out into the backyard and returned to his seat in a flash.
Zhu Lei'Er scoffed:"Are they hear to bring presents too? However those presents are probably not for you, you just have to safeguard them."
Zhu Lei'Er looked outside and saw that the driver of the carriage was a man with only one arm and he rode very quickly to the house of Yang Zijiang.

End of chapter 33

[Goofy]

I actually guessed correctly that Yang's wife was Iron Blossom even before she made appearance.

and now, father of the bride is making the visit....

I wonder between him and his in-law, who would come out the winner????

[optimus]

Originally posted by Goofy
I actually guessed correctly that Yang's wife was Iron Blossom even before she made appearance.

Goofy, how old are you?? maybe you're the reincarnation of GL???
I wonder what makes Iron Blossom fell for Yang Zijiang?? Could it be that she's too broken hearted by Yu???

[conmebol]

Just finally catch up with this. It's very interesting.


Thank you Athena for the translation.

[eeyore]

I also guess it was Iron Blossom! more twist and turning...

Thanks Athena.

[Goofy]

Originally posted by optimus
Goofy, how old are you?? maybe you're the reincarnation of GL???
I wonder what makes Iron Blossom fell for Yang Zijiang?? Could it be that she's too broken hearted by Yu???

Me??? But I don't drink or like women

But ever since I have read some of his books, I feel more in sync with his style than with JY's. Or it could be that GL's storytelling reminded of old detective stories that I love to read.

As for Iron Blossom, I guess she tried to kill him but failed and in turn fell for his charms instead. One could see that Yang was a man of charisma and possible a master of seduction in a way....

[Athena]

Chapter 34 Shadows Of The Sabres And The Swords

There was a large box on the carriage. Iron Blossom laughed.
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why are you laughing?"
Iron Blossom giggled:"I'm just happy for finding a good husband like him."
Zhu Lei'Er scoffed:"Don't count your chicks before they hatch."
Iron Blossom said:"I thought this is a funny sight."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"What is so funny?"
Iron Blossom said softly:"The famous hero Wang Yuluo is driving a carriage."
Yang Zijiang said:"He just trying to make up for his mistakes."
Iron Blossom said:"Mistakes?"
Yang Zijiang said:"Yes, he couldn't even keep his eyes on Tang Yue and even let him escape. I should have chopped off his other arm too."
Wang Yuluo and the carriage came closer and when Wang Yuluo saw Yu Peiyu he turned pale, but immediately smiled friendly:"It is such a pleasant surprise to find you here, young master Yu."
Iron Blossom smiled sweetly:"Do you just remember young master Yu, don't you remember me anymore?"
Wang Yuluo exclaimed with anger:"The Three Magnificent Flower Ladies?!?"
Iron Blossom smiled:"Oh! You still remember me."
Wang Yuluo looked at his missing arm and smiled evily:"How can I forget your gratitude, Miss?"
Yang Zijiang said:"Not Miss. But Madame."
Wang Yuluo looked at Yu Peiyu and said:"Madame Yu."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Not Madame Yu, but Madame Yang."
Wang Yuluo was surprised but soon composed himself and said with a big smile:"Young master Yang, you forgot to invite me over for the ceremony. Congratulations!"
Wang Yuluo now entered the house, Yang Zijiang said:"We just finished the wedding banquet, there is still a plate of ribs which is untouched. If you don't find this a bit too simple, you can consider that a sort of banquet itself."
Yang Zijiang took out a bowl and a pair of chopsticks for Wang Yuluo, if Iron Blossom took out the bowl and chopsticks, Wang Yuluo would have been very suspicious. But he was quite surprised and happy to see that Yang Zijiang was attending him personally, he thanked him respectfully several times.
Wang Yuluo said:"It is a pity that there is only this plate of ribs left, but I still thank young master Yang for your generosity."
Zhu Lei'Er was afraid he would not eat but strange enough Wang Yuluo started to eat without a hint of suspicion.
Wang Yuluo was normally a cunning man and facing such a strange situation he should even be more careful. But he really trusted Yang Zijiang, this must mean that Yang Zijiang was very close to Yu Fanghe and Yu Fanghe must have ordered Wang Yuluo and others to listen to Yang Zijiang's orders, instructions.
Yu Fanghe was a very intelligent man and knew how to use people, there must be a reason why he trusted Yang Zijiang that much. But the actions of Yang Zijiang were too strange and unpredictable. He is now even poisoning Wang Yuluo, why is he doing that?
What is his relationship to Yu Fanghe?
Yang Zijiang asked:"Have you brought the box?"
Wang Yuluo said:"Young master Yang, I will not dare to make any mistakes."
He drank a cup of wine and continued:"As instructed I went to see young master Hai, young master Hai ordered me to deliver the box to you. I did not even open the box to see."
Yang Zijiang asked:"Did young master Hai ask you to deliver any message?"
Wang Yuluo said:"Young master Hai said he discovered some suspicious people, he is going to investigate this matter. He won't be able to meet up with you for a few days."
Yang Zijiang was thinking for a moment before saying:"I'm very pleased about this. If you have any final wishes please tell me, I will take care of it for you."
Wang Yuluo turned pale and stuttered:"Fi....final wish...wishes..."
Yang Zijiang said casually:"You've taken a poison of the Palace of
Enchantment, do you think you can continue to live?" Wang Yuluo dropped his chopsticks and stood up and said:"Young....young
master Yang, are...are you joking?"
Yang Zijiang looked earnestly and said coldly:"Who is joking with you?"
Wang Yuluo was trembling, he was looking awfully pale and kicked the table upside down, he shouted:"The chancellor has put so much trust in you! How dare you....you........!"
He suddenly stopped talking and turned around struck his palm towards Zhu Lei'Er.
He knew he was no match for Yang Zijiang, that is why he attacked Zhu Lei'Er with everything he had in him. He knew he was going to die anyway, but he wanted at least one of these people to accompany him while he died.
The entire time he was looking at Yang Zijiang, nobody suspected he would attack Zhu Lei'Er. This attack of his was both lethal and vicious.
Zhu Lei'Er had little combat experience and was completely taken by surprise, it was too late for her to avoid this blow.
Yu Peiyu had already stepped between her and Wang Yuluo and used his own palm to accept the stance of Wang Yuluo.
When the two exchanged palms, they could hear a pats and Wang Yuluo flew back and landed on the floor with his back. However before he actually fell to the floor, the poison had already kicked in and he was dead when he landed they all saw that his face had turned silver.
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Brother Yu, I thought you were quite tired from the events of these past days. It amazes me that you even have such powerful internal energy in your exhausted state, I must evaluate your martial arts again."
Iron Blossom smiled:"Don't underestimate young master Yu, he has extraordinary strength unmatched in the realm."
Zhu Lei'Er had now composed herself again and asked:"What did he deliver anyway?"
She wanted to ask this question for some time now.
Yang Zijiang laughed:"If I stop you again, you will start a fight with me I think...."
He opened the box and Zhu Lei'Er took a look and called out:"What?"
The person in the chest was no other than Ji Lingfeng. Even Yu Peiyu was surprised to see her in this state.
She was unconscious and tied up with ropes, the normal ever so high and mighty Ji Lingfeng was defeated and tied up and put in a box.
Yang Zijiang asked:"Do you know her?"
Yu Peiyu smiled wryly:"Yes, I do."
Zhu Lei'Er sighed:"We're supposed to meet each other at Tang Manor, I was wondering why she did not show up. I never thought she would be captured by you."
Yu Peiyu said:"With her martial arts and intelligence, Wang Yuluo is certainly no a match for her. Who was it....."
Yang Zijiang interrupted:"Did you not hear him say that a certain young master Hai instructed him to deliver this chest to me?"
Zhu Lei'Er said with surprise:"Young master Hai? Do you mean Hai Dongqing?"
Yang Zijiang was a bit surprised and asked:"You know Hai Dongqing?"
Zhu Lei'Er said:"Of course I know him, but I'm surprised you know him too."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"I knew him when I was just one years old."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"One years old? That means that you're...."
Yang Zijiang said:"He is my elder martial arts brother."
Zhu Lei'Er was a bit stunned in the beginning but after a moment she smiled:"No wonder both of you are so strange. Both of you crawled out of the same...." She didn't finish her sentence.
Yu Peiyu sighed:"I have seen the martial arts of brother Hai before, Miss Ji is not his match. But what kinds of grudges do you have with Miss Ji?"
Yang Zijiang said:"No grudges, only we have orders from Yu Fanghe to bring her back to Murder Manor."
Zhu Lei'Er said with surprise:"Hai Dongqing is also working for Yu Fanghe?"
Yang Zijiang laughed:"Both of us crawled out of the same nest, so our objectives are pretty much the same."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Since both of you are so loyal to Yu Fanghe, why did you kill Wang Yuluo?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Because of me."
Suddenly he yelled:"Who is there?" His face changed.
The door was barged open and everyone felt a powerful wind blowing inside, Zhu Lei'Er saw a figure and thought who this person was with such incredible speed.
Zhu Lei'Er now saw who it was and smiled:"Speak of the devil....."
But she did not finish her sentence because she saw that Hai Dongqing's robe was drenched with blood. And he looked awfully pale.
Yang Zijiang did not speak, he immediately tore open Hai Dongqing's robe to inspect and tend to his wounds. There were about 17, 18 wounds on his body,

Yu Peiyu and Zhu Lei'Er knew what Hai Dongqing was capable of and were shocked to see him in this state.
Yang Zijiang was also shocked and asked:"Who were responsible for this?"
He was certain that a group of people ambushed Hai Dongqing, because no man alone can injure Hai Dongqing like this.
Hai Dongqing gritted his teeth and said:"It...."
At this pointed he fainted, his wounds were very severe and his amazing tenacity was the only factor that prevented him from fainting a long time ago.
But now that he was in care of his friends he was completely exhausted and passed out.
Iron Blossom put Hai Dongqing in a chair and looked after his wounds, Yang Zijiang angrilly said:"I will pursue these people to the corners of the world if I have to."
A voice from outside said:"Not necessary. The one you seek is already here."
The voice sounded sharp and cold, it made one feel most uncomfortable when you heard it.
A man appeared in front of the door, he looked quite handsome but somehow he had a very eerie, cold aura around him. Like his voice it made one very uncomfortable, he wore a black robe and had a red girdle with a moon curved sabre.
Yang Zijiang was shocked but soon composed himself and asked:"Were you responsible?"
That man smiled indifferently:"Yes, your martial arts brother was wounded by Shade*." (*Shade as in ghosts, ghouls etc.)
Yang Zijiang asked:"Shade? Are you Shade?"
That man laughed:"Yes."
Yang Zijiang said:"Excellent, tell your comrades to come out too!"
Shade laughed:"Shades do not need help when they kill."
Yang Zijiang exclaimed with surprise:"You alone were responsible for this?"
Shade smiled:"Only one Shade is enough."
Everyone was shocked because they knew that Hai Dongqing had superb martial arts, at this moment Zhu Lei'Er noticed that Yang Zijiang could stay very calm too in dangerous situations. He asked:"Who ordered you?"
Shade smiled:"Shade acted on nobody's orders."
Yang Zijiang asked:"What unsolved issues did you have with him?"
Shade smiled again:"Shade does not have any issues with him."
He did not use the word "I" but "Shade."
Yang Zijiang shouted:"Who are you?"
Shade recited:"The mysteries of Heaven and Earth, flowing through the universe."
This was the first line of the classical text Thousand-character Classic, but when Yang Zijiang heard that his entire face turned pale. Why did that mere sentence have so much impact on him.
Shade smiled:"Shade let him escape, because he hoped to he would lead Shade to you. Because you are Shade's next target."
Nobody saw when or how he drew his sabre but they could see that he was slashing towards Yang Zijiang's throat. A most powerful and swift move.
Iron Blossom shrieked, during the shriek there was a clang sound. Even as quick, Yang Zijiang drew a short sword and blocked Shade's sabre.
Both did not move and had already exchanged ten odd stances in a few moments, but nobody could hear the clattering sound of weapons. In the eyes of laymen it seemed that both men were just displaying their stances individually. But Yu Peiyu knew how dangerous this battle really was.
The two of them really fought at close range, Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why aren't they moving to avoid the opponent's blows?"
Yu Peiyu kept his eyes on the battle and explained:"Because both of them are extremely fast, if Shade hacks Yang Zijiang has already counter-attacked, as result Shade has to change stance to protect himself. He chooses the attack as the best form of defense, so Yang Zijiang's initial stance has to be broken off to protect himself again. However Yang Zijiang's also chooses the same tactic as Shade using the attack as the best form of defense. All the stances, techniques they have used are extremely lethal but cannot harm each other yet."
Zhu Lei'Er said with shock:"So if Yang Zijiang is just a bit slower, he will be hacked with one stroke."
Yu Peiyu looked at Hai Dongqing and sighed:"I fear that there will be more than one strokes.
Zhu Lei'Er was really anxious when she realised the danger Shade forms and sighed:"Where does this madman come from?"
Yu Peiyu sighed too:"Now I know that the realm of martial arts is truly a big place, filled with mysterious unknown experts."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"Although this Yang Zijiang's motives are questionable, he did save us. We really should aid him."
Yu Peiyu said:"Do you want to join him in this battle?"
Zhu Lei'Er whispered:"We can sneak up on that Shade and attack him in the back, he won't suspect a thing."
Yu Peiyu did not reply, he picked up a pair of chopsticks and slowly walked behind Shade. He was now several metres away from Shade and threw out the chopsticks using the commonly known Hand arrow's technique.
A sharp Cling sound could be heard, around this time both Shade and Yang Zijiang were standing on a different spot and the pair of chopsticks were stuck into a wall. The chopsticks broke into seven pieces, Zhu Lei'Er had no idea how it was sliced into seven pieces and what method was used to ward off the chopsticks.
Yu Peiyu walked back to Zhu Lei'Er and asked:"And?"
Zhu Lei'Er was too surprised to speak.
Looking at Yang Zijiang and Shade, Yang Zijiang looked very anxious and earnest now. But Shade was still smiling, he kept the same smile from the moment he arrived......it looked like if the smile was carved onto his face, never changing no matter what circumstance.
Yu Peiyu knew that if the battle continued, Yang Zijiang will lose. When it came to martial arts both were equal to each other, but as the fight will progress Yang Zijiang will soon feel frustrated and worried.
No matter how calm he is, he knows what the consequences will be when he loses. His martial arts brother is severly injured and his wife is absolutely no match for this Shade.
Shade, on the other hand is just a walking corpse with no thoughts to trouble him. Nothing can affect his condition, because of that Hai Dongqing probably lost to him.
Suddenly Yang Zijiang sighed and leapt away, he knew that he could not defeat Shade like this and hoped to use a different method.
But Shade followed him and both exchanged another seven, eight stances mid-air. And when they landed they stood again just about 2 metres apart from each other again.
No matter how Yang Zijiang changed his stances, Shade could adapt immediately to his variations and changes.
Yang Zijiang began to sweat, actually he broke out in a cold sweat. He was not the only one, Zhu Lei'Er was too breaking out in a cold sweat and Iron Blossom was trembling with fear.
Yu Peiyu now stepped out of the house, Zhu Lei'Er knew he was not the type of person to walk out alone and leave everything behind. But she could not guess what he was up to now. Although it was awesome and interesting fight, but in Zhu Lei'Er's heart Yu Peiyu was even more awesome and interesting. Even if the fight was ten times more interesting and awesome, she would still only have eyes for Yu Peiyu.
He was back in a blink of an eye carrying a tree, six months ago he used a pillar in Murder Manor to defeat 20 odd Kunlun and Diancang experts. After observing Shade's techniques he remembered something, clumsiness over ingenuity. So he pulled out a tree from outside and came in again, Zhu Lei'Er knew he had immense strength but seeing in his exhausted condition still
pulling out trees was new even to her. She looked at Yu Peiyu with awe, Yu Peiyu broke all the branches just leaving behind the trunk. He roared now and used the trun to sweep through the house.
Shade had already heard the sweeping sound and twirled his sabre behind his back to hack away the object that was coming towards him. He used the same technique to ward off the chopsticks, but this was not a pair of chopsticks but an entire tree trunk. Shade had powerful internal energy but he could not
use a sabre to hack a tree trunk into two. His sabre was stuck into the trunk and Yang Zijiang quickly took advantage of this and stabbed Shade about 17, 18 times too.
Shade was still smiling and said:"Good! Good! But remember that Shade never dies, nobody can kill Shade....."
He pulled out his sabre and stabbed himself in his heart, the sabre pierced through his body.
Shade smiled:"Do not run! Shade will come any moment now to extract revenge."
Zhu Lei'Er sighed with relief:"Not only did he have eerie martial arts, the entire person was eerie."
Yang Zijiang sighed:"I think only ten odd people in Wulin can handle ten of his lethal, eerie techniques."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"But you killed him. So only ten odd people in Wulin can handle ten stances from you."
Yang Zijiang smiled:"Thank you."
Zhu Lei'Er said coldly:"Your swordsmanship is very good, but without Yu Peiyu's help you would be dead now."
Yang Zijiang was not angry and said:"Very true."
He turned to Yu Peiyu and smiled:"Brother Yu, you keep surprising me. The first time we met I thought you were just a good-looking young fellow with no special talents, but the second time I had a better impression of you.
However I was still not impressed by you, but now this is the third time I saw you in action and everytime you seem to raise in my esteem with two points. I do keep wondering how high your martial arts, I really have no clue as how to estimate you."
Yu Peiyu said:"Brother Yang, you're too kind but even I would not last ten stances with this Shade."
Yang Zijiang said:"Maybe you're right. Perhaps your martial arts at this point are not very superb, however within three years you will not be inferior to me anymore."
Zhu Lei'Er laughed:"Since when did you become so friendly?"
Yang Zijiang said seriously:"I'm not being friendly, I'm just telling the truth. I don't need to flatter to brother Yu. What level of martial arts one achieve is really predestined, no matter how diligent one is sometimes they will not reach the ultimate level. The same goes for chess, painting, etc. it really depends on your own talent, otherwise you can practise till you drop dead but still reach only beginnings; only capable of learning the form but not the essence. That is why in all these hundreds of years only a few great masters are produced for instance Wu Daozi (painter), Wang Xizhi (caligrapher)."
He paused for a minute before adding:"However if you do not train properly, all the talent in the world won't do you any good."
Zhu Lei'Er laughed:"Why are you that talkative at this moment, are you afraid of Shade coming back for you?"
Yang Zijiang smiled:"I wasn't afraid of him when he was alive and I certainly don't fear him when he is dead."
Everyone was laughing now and glanced at the corpse of Shade, but to their surprise the body was gone, their laughter was gone now. The body of Shade began to rot and in an instant all that was left was a pool of blood and pus.
Yu Peiyu remembered that day when he saw that fake Xie Tianbi's body washed away by the rain. His body melted away in the same way, Yu Peiyu was shocked and happy.
That fake Xie Tianbi was a lackey of Yu Fanghe and this Shade too. Because both bodies were dissolved by the same type of poison and it seemed that Shade's poison was also concealed in a hollow tooth. He was afraid that when he died people would find out more about his identity.
But both Shade and Yang Zijiang were working for Yu Fanghe, why would Shade want to kill Yang Zijiang. Could it be that Yu Fanghe knew that Yang Zijiang had betrayed him?
No matter whether it is Yang Zijiang or Shade both seemed to have superior martial arts to Yu Fanghe, why did they not take over his position in this secret organisation? Why would they follow his commands like this?

Yu Peiyu's heart was filled with questions, but he did not show it. He also was thinking about Yang Zijiang's mysterious actions. Suddenly he asked casually to Yang Zijiang:"What does [The mysteries of Heaven and Eart, flowing through the universe] mean? I know it is the first line of the Thousand-character Classic, but I think brother Yang knows why he recited that part."
Yang Zijiang was silent for a moment and said:"This is an extremely difficult and great matter....."
A voice interrupted him:"Shade will never die, nobody can kill Shade. Shade is here to extract revenge."
Before everyone knew what was going on, a figure appeared at the door again.
A man with a mysterious smile on his face, he wore a black robe too with a red girdle with a black sabre stuck in it. He looked identical to the other Shade and when they looked down the body of the dead Shade was gone. Could it be that Shade can never die? He has come back to avenge himself.....
Even men with great courage like Yu Peiyu and Yang Zijiang shivered when they saw this man, Zhu Lei'Er and Iron Blossom shrieked with fear.
Yang Zijiang did not speak and attacked immediately he aimed for his throat. He was afraid to make the same mistake as earlier, he stepped forward with three paces and attacked Shade from the left.
He used a stance with tremendous variations and hoped to gain the upperhand.
However this Shade seemed to have anticipated his attack and slashed into Yang Zijiang's direction three times with his sabre. Shade seemed to know how and what the stances of Yang Zijiang are.
Yang Zijiang had no choice but to abort his attack and block the sabre, Shade seemed again to anticipate that move and chopped towards Yang Zijiang's elbow. Yang Zijiang quickly changed stance to block that stance after four stances he could with difficulty divert Shade's attack but he could not move forward or backward. He did not want to repeat the tactics like earlier with
the first Shade, but now he had no choice but to fight like earlier.
No matter what kinds of changes he brought into his stances, they were all in vain. Because Shade always blocked his attacks before he could utilize them.
Shade was gaining the upperhand now and this Shade had figured out Yang Zijiang's techniques. It is comparable to two people playing go, and one of the players already knew which move the other would make.
Shade smiled:"You know you can never escape from the Shade, give up and you will die swift and painless."
Yang Zijiang stayed quiet, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle.
Shade smiled:"You must be surprised why Shade knows your martial arts so well, that is because Shade has already fought you before."
Yang Zijiang was really scared now, he was never that scared before in his life. Was this Shade really the same Shade he fought before, did he come back to take revenge now? He began to believe that Shade can never die and will always come back.
Shade said:"Die now! Shade can promise you, you will die very swiftly and painless."
His voice had also a hypnotic effect on Yang Zijiang too now.
If Yang Zijiang was a disciple of Shaolin, Wudang it is not strange that Shade could see through his stances. Shaolin and Wudang have existed for many generations and their skills have been around for decades in Wulin now. Every stance, technique was performed with a certain flair, although every generation or so one, two experts from these schools could "glue" all the stances together not revealing any flaws.
But it is not surprising that most people recognize the skills of the great orthodox schools, that is why most experts of these schools do not place emphasis on their stances but rather on internal energy cultivation. And rely on internal strength to defeat their adversaries. But the martial arts of Yang Zijiang were very mysterious and could be said that no one in Wulin knew who his teacher was.
But how is possible that Shade knew the style of Yang Zijiang. He was beginning to lose faith in this fight. Although Zhu Lei'Er and Iron Blossom did not understand the style of Yang Zijiang, but they could see that he was losing and his life was in danger.
They were surprised why Yu Peiyu did not step in yet to help.
They heard Yu Peiyu shouting:"He doesn't know your martial arts, he examined your style from Hai Dongqing."
Zhu Lei'Er was a bit stunned but immediately understood what he meant, Yang Zijiang regained his confidence now.
He said loudly:"Of course! Of course!"
He casually stabbed out with his sword towards the stomach of the Shade.
There was nothing special to this stance, but it did force Shade in a defensive position.
Yang Zijiang attacked with another three stances and Shade back away with one step, there was nothing special about these three attacks. Zhu Lei'Er pondered long and suddenly smiled sweetly:"I understand now...." But then she frowned again:"No, I'm wrong I do not understand." And shook her head again.
Iron Blossom asked:"What do you not understand?"
Zhu Lei'Er did not reply, he picked up the sabre of the dead Shade and hacked casually towards this Shade.
Yu Peiyu just slowly hacked towards the shoulder of Shade, even if Yu Peiyu was able to hit him Shade would not be severly injured. Furthermore Shade does not have to avoid such a slow and seemingly worthless attack. But when the blade almost reached his shoulder it was too late to avoid. Yu's attack
was very slow everyone could easily avoid it, but when Shade actually wanted to avoid it Yu Peiyu twirled the sabre around.
The sabre sort of turned into a iron wheel, Yu Peiyu twirled the sabre so fast now that it turned a spinning wheel. To the laymen such a technique is of no use. But how could Shade not pay attention to a whirling blade that close to him. Zhu Lei'Er had no idea what Yu Peiyu was doing, but at this point she understood the beauty of Yu Peiyu's move. That round twirl was not a stance and had no flaws in it even if Shade wanted to break this stance he would not know how.
This attack was not a stance, but it did have a sabre. If there is a sabre Shade must avoid that is the sabre not the non-existing stance.
Shade smiled:"Excellent sabre! Excellent sabre!"
After saying this Yu Peiyu had already hacked him down. Because he did not know how to avoid Yu's attack, but even so he had to ward off Yang Zijiang's techniques first. But when he focussed his attention to ward off those stances, he will be hacked down by Yu Peiyu.
And if he turned around and paid attention to Yu, he will be pierced by Yang Zijiang.
Shade turned around to counter Yu Peiyu, but was already stabbed in the back by Yang Zijiang.
Shade fell down but kept smiling:"Good! Very good! Unfortunately Shade never dies and nobody can kill him......"
Yang Zijiang did not look at the body of this Shade but only kept his eyes on Yu Peiyu for some time, in the end he sighed:"It is said that the legendary general Li's blade techniques were unmatched throughout the analects of Wulin. Nobody could withstand his sabre, because every time he drew his sabre he became one with his weapon. People could only see his [stance] but not the essence and his sabre. In other words the stance is visual but the sabre is everywhere, that is why nobody could block his stances."
Yu Peiyu said:"I too have heard about the tales of the famous general Li, many seniors have told me about his tale."
Yang Zijiang smiled a bit:"Very much the same about you, your name was also be mentioned many times in the future."
Yu Peiyu said:"Me?"
Yang Zijiang said:"Yes, you!"
He sounded a bit angry and annoyingly pointed at Yu Peiyu's blade and said:"Not because of your personality not because your handsome face, because you created a new unfounded style of using the sabre."
Yu Peiyu just smiled, not because he was praised but because he remembered the words of a wise man:"An arrogant man will always become slightly angry when he is forced to praise another man."
Yu Peiyu smiled:"I have never studied how to use a sabre before."
Yang Zijiang smiled wryfully:"That is why you're so formidable! No techniques in the blade is much more sophisticated and superior to no blade but visible forms."
Zhu Lei'Er suddenly laughed:"Men always say that women are so talkative, but I think you're too talkative now at this moment. This is not the time to chit-chat about martial arts."
Yang Zijiang laughed too:"You're absolutely right, this is not the time to chit-chat."
Zhu Lei'Er said with a serious face:"Shade can never die and will come back instantly to extract revenge."
She could imitate the voice of Shade very good and when everyone thought about Shade nobody could laugh anymore.
Yang Zijiang wiped away his sweat and said:"Brother Yu, I know you have a lot queries at the moment. However I can tell you that I am not your enemy, I am your friend."
The reply of Yu Peiyu was very short and resolute:"I believe you!"
Yang Zijiang said with relief:"Very good! I hope you can help me."
Yu Peiyu asked:"What can I do for you?"
Yang Zijiang said:"There is a secret tunnel in this house, take the women and the wounded through that tunnel. Take those chests with you too."
Yu Peiyu asked:"How about you?"
Yang Zijiang said casually:"I can look after myself, I also don't need your concern and your help here."
Yu Peiyu said:"But you....."
Yang Zijiang said with an annoyed tone:"If I cannot defeat him I can at least run away. But with you here, I cannot even run away with a peaceful heart."
He helped Hai Dongqing up and said:"If you're still suspicious about us, ask my martial arts brother when he wakes up."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"But you....."
Yang Zijiang frowned and said:"I'm leaving my wife in your care too, do you actually think I will never return."

The tunnel was rather stuffy and damp, the entrance of the tunnel was under the kitchen's furnace. Not even Iron Blossom knew of the existance of this tunnel.
It really smelled awful in the tunnel and after awhile Zhu Lei'Er could not stand the air anymore and said softly:"Great!?! Why did we listen to him in the first place. What are we doing in this rat hole anyway. Who knows what lies up ahead, a pit full of poisonous animals, traps. As the saying goes:[There is a way leading to heaven, but we deliberately opened the road to hell]."
Iron Blossom bit her lip and said:"Can't you trust anybody in your life?"
Zhu Lei'Er said:"At least I know that I should not marry to anyone without knowing him properly."
Iron Blossom stared at Zhu Lei'Er, Zhu Lei'Er stared back. Both looked like two cats about to fight each other. After awhile Iron Blossom lowered her head and said softly:"I am not like you, I don't have anyone who loves and cares for me. If somebody just treats me nicely, I....I...am very happy."
Zhu Lei'Er did not know what to say and walked ahead with big paces, but soon she turned around and walked back to Iron Blossom and hugged her. She said:"Don't be angry with me, I was blurted out what was on my mind. I...I don't have a home too and nobody was there to teach me etiquette. I often say the
wrong things to upset people."
Iron Blossom looked at her and smiled with difficulty:"Who says you always upset people. I think you're one of the most adorable and cute girls I have ever met."
Zhu Lei'Er lowered her head and smiled, she looked at Yu Peiyu and said softly:"I know why you married Yang Zijiang, you wanted to investigate Yang Zijiang and protect us from him."
Iron Blossom sighed:"That was my original plan, but afterwards I found out that he is not bad at all. Just a bit annoying at times...."
Yu Peiyu said with a smile:"I think that annoying side of his is just an act...."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why would he do something like that?"
Yu Peiyu said:"Some people have great ambitions and have to hide their desires from the world....They hope not to be noticed by some."
Suddenly they head a loud Boom from above, Zhu Lei'Er said with fear in her voice:"Another Shade must have come."
Iron Blossom turned pale and began to tremble.
Yu Peiyu suddenly smiled:"Have you heard of the tale about the Child Prodigy exhausting the Blood Shadow?"
They were a bit surprised to hear Yu Peiyu asking them such a strange question, but Zhu Lei'Er always like to hear stories and this story would be told by Yu Peiyu. She smiled:"Blood Shadow, judging by his name he is probably not a good fellow."
Yu Peiyu nodded:"You're right. He was bloodthirsty killer and was hated by almost everyone in the realm. But nobody was able to kill him."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Did he have very high martial arts?"
Yu Peiyu answered:"Yes, he had also a superb, unmatched level in art of levitation. Once he was surrounded by more than ten experts but in the end he still managed to escape them."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Who is this Child Prodigy?"
Yu Peiyu said:"The Child Prodigy was just a little boy and new in the realm of martial arts. Nobody knew where he came from and actually nobody was really interested in it either. However one day he did a most amazing thing that caught the attention of everyone in Wulin."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"What was it?"
Yu Peiyu said:"He hired a lot of people to write notices throughout the realm, he wanted to compete with Blood Shadow in the art of levitation. If Blood Shadow did not appear he would be coward."
Iron Blossom also listened attentively and asked:"Did Blood Shadow go?"
Yu Peiyu said:"Blood Shadow was a very arrogant man and looked down upon almost everyone. Within three days he looked up the Child Prodigy and said that whoever would reach the city of Wuhan would win. They started in Beijing and the finish would be in Wuhan, the distance was about 2500 kilometres. The loser would fall into the victor's hands and the victor could do anything as he pleases with the loser."
Iron Blossom asked:"Why did Blood Shadow not kill the Child Prodigy at once, he was already an infamous butcher."
Yu Peiyu said:"Because he was so arrogant, he agreed to compete with the Child Prodigy. If he used another method to kill the Child Prodigy, he would become the laughing stock of Wulin."
Yu Peiyu added with a smile:"Besides Blood Shadow's level in this art was really high, not even the famous reverend Feilong (Flying Dragon) from Kunlun School could catch up with him. And he knew that the Child Prodigy was not even 15 years old yet, so he did not think he would have a high level in this art."
Zhu Lei'Er frowned and said:"If that is the case, didn't the Child Prodigy make a big mistake?"
Yu Peiyu said:"Everyone in Wulin thought the same, and feared for the life of the Child Prodigy. However the outcome was a big surprise to everyone."
Zhu Lei'Er smiled sweetly:"So the Child Prodigy won!"
Yu Peiyu said:"Both started in Beijing and during dusk Blood Shadow had reached Shijiazhuang."
Iron Blossom said with surprise:"He is really fast this Blood Shadow."
Yu Peiyu said:"He thought he had left the Child Prodigy far and far behind, and he found an inn and sat down and wanted to take dinner now. But suddenly he looked outside and saw the Child Prodigy passing by the inn and he did not look tired at all."
Zhu Lei'Er smiled:"This Child Prodigy is not to be trifled with."
Yu Peiyu continued:"Blood Shadow did not stop for dinner anymore and rushed out to give chase after travelling for many kilometres he finally stopped. He was getting a bit tired now."
Zhu Lei'Er said:"I would have passed already with fatigue."
Yu Peiyu said:"He noticed that up ahead was a road stall that sold tofo soup and other dishes. It smelt very nice and was hungry now, so he walked over to it."
Zhu Lei'Er smiled:"But when he reached that stall he saw the Child Prodigy passing by, right?"
Yu Peiyu smiled:"You're right, the Child Prodigy did not look tired at all.
Blood Shadow did not rest and gave chase again."
Iron Blossom asked:"Could he have been mistaken this Blood Shadow?"
Yu Peiyu said:"Blood Shadow was also a top expert in using secretive weaponry. It was even said he could see flies from a 500 metres away, a bit exaggerated in my opinion but still he had excellent eyesight."
Zhu Lei'Er laughed:"He had a pair of thieving eyes."
Yu Peiyu sighed:"This Blood Shadow was really an amazing talented man, but nonetheless he was just another man and when he reached Wuhan he finally fell down from fatigue."
Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Did he not rest on his way to Wuhan?"

End of chapter 34


Wu Daozi: a famous painter in the Tang Dynasty, till even now his paintings are widely respected and admired.
Wang Xizhi: famous caligrapher,303 A.D. - 361 AD. His caligraphy is said be unmatched everyone even now still admires his characters.

[darkcser]

Thanks for the update

"No techniques in the blade is much more sophisticated and superior to no blade but visible forms." (¡ºÓ嶶øÎÞÕС»£¬Æñ·Ç±È¡ºÓÐÕжøÎÞµ¶¡») strangely echoes "Wu jao shen yo jao. Wu jian shen yo jian"

Of course this brings up the question of just what constitutes a stance... yet again.