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Thread: The Sword And The Exquisiteness (Volumes IV and V)

  1. #261
    Senior Member WuTang_Heroes's Avatar
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    Wow ! finally ! an update !
    I've been a silent reader, but now I must speak to Athena to continue this... 6 chapters to go !

  2. #262
    Moderator CrazyT's Avatar
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    My my. That talk about sabre play between Yu Peiyu and Yang Zilang was very confusing. But nonetheless, thanks for the update. Truly a story of crouching tiger and hidden dragon.
    I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code.

  3. #263
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Cool

    Dr. Goofy was wrong, hanging head with shame.....

    But I think I know why the child prodigy beat his opponent. Think of the turtle and the hare race.....
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  4. #264
    Senior Member dan J's Avatar
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    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.
    I am very curious about this. could this be a reference to dagger Li? the original chinese was "xiao Li jiang jun" which is awefully close to 'xiao Li tan hua'. and this book is written right after Wulin Wai Shi, and a couple years before Sentimental Swordsman. so maybe, GL already had an idea for dagger Li while writing this story?
    It means you got eyes like apostrophes, you dress white, talk black, and drive Jew. So how am I supposed to know what kind of zipperhead dog-munching dink you are if you don't?

  5. #265
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    Originally posted by Goofy

    But I think I know why the child prodigy beat his opponent. Think of the turtle and the hare race.....
    You know, I would think it was like those old bugs bunny cartoons with that dog, droopy?, since what just happened and all with the shade.

  6. #266
    Senior Member Yang Guo's Avatar
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    Or the kid had lookalikes?

  7. #267
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    Originally posted by Goofy
    Dr. Goofy was wrong, hanging head with shame.....

    But I think I know why the child prodigy beat his opponent. Think of the turtle and the hare race.....
    Actually, I think Child Prodigy challenged Blood Shadow to a race to exhaust him to the point where he can't run away anymore. After that, everyone will ambush the guy and finally rid Wu Lin of such a character. Winning or losing the race was never a factor for Child Prodigy. That's how I see it....
    I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code.

  8. #268
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    I'm inclined to agree with YG on the twins/triplets/quadruplets theory.
    HK47: Now do you understand the travails of my existence master? Surely it does not compare to your existence but still...
    You: I survive somehow
    HK47: As do I. It is our lot in life I suppose master. Shall we find something to kill to cheer ourselves up?

    -KotOR

  9. #269
    Senior Member TigerWong's Avatar
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    Originally posted by dan J
    I am very curious about this. could this be a reference to dagger Li? the original chinese was "xiao Li jiang jun" which is awefully close to 'xiao Li tan hua'. and this book is written right after Wulin Wai Shi, and a couple years before Sentimental Swordsman. so maybe, GL already had an idea for dagger Li while writing this story?
    I doubt it. Like you pointed out, this was written before Sentimental Swordsman. Plus I think a jiang jun is not the same as a tan hua. There are a lot of mentions of Dagger Lee in a number of GL novels. But they all take place after Sentimental Swordsman was written and they always mention him specifically (where theres no doubt that they were talking about him).

  10. #270
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    GL used the plot of this triplet racing with someone on lightness kungfu on his last book too.

    OT - my sister came from Thailand and brought me books of GL - guess which one? Of all the books she could have selected - it was the Crescent Sabre.

    and all the time, I have tried to telepathy her to bring me either LXF or CLH.

    oh, well!
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  11. #271
    Senior Member dan J's Avatar
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    Originally posted by TigerWong
    I doubt it. Like you pointed out, this was written before Sentimental Swordsman. Plus I think a jiang jun is not the same as a tan hua.
    they are not the same thing, but they both have something to do with the government, that's close enough for me.

    anyway, I still think it's possible (just possible) that GL might have conceptualized dagger lee (either conciously or maybe subconsciously?) while writing "S&E". who knows, but then again, who else really cares anyway.
    It means you got eyes like apostrophes, you dress white, talk black, and drive Jew. So how am I supposed to know what kind of zipperhead dog-munching dink you are if you don't?

  12. #272
    Senior Member TigerWong's Avatar
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    Originally posted by dan J
    they are not the same thing, but they both have something to do with the government, that's close enough for me.

    anyway, I still think it's possible (just possible) that GL might have conceptualized dagger lee (either conciously or maybe subconsciously?) while writing "S&E". who knows, but then again, who else really cares anyway.
    Well, if you want to take in-novel chronology into account, it's impossible because Sword & Exquisiteness takes place way before Dagger Lee, who wasn't even born yet.

  13. #273
    Junior Member pasqualle's Avatar
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    may i know where can i get the early translation for this novel...?
    cause from the title it said this is the volume iv and v..
    thanx in advance...

    and really would like to express my gratitude for all these translation...always like wuxia story but not chinese literate is very cruel...hehehe....good job guys and gals....

  14. #274
    Senior Member siryu's Avatar
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    Originally posted by pasqualle
    may i know where can i get the early translation for this novel...?
    cause from the title it said this is the volume iv and v..
    thanx in advance...

    and really would like to express my gratitude for all these translation...always like wuxia story but not chinese literate is very cruel...hehehe....good job guys and gals....
    it's on the 2nd page of this forum - wuxia translation
    have a look!! it's really good, lots of twisting and suspense!!

  15. #275
    Senior Member TigerWong's Avatar
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    Originally posted by pasqualle
    may i know where can i get the early translation for this novel...?
    cause from the title it said this is the volume iv and v..
    thanx in advance...

    and really would like to express my gratitude for all these translation...always like wuxia story but not chinese literate is very cruel...hehehe....good job guys and gals....
    Set your option to show posts older than 45 days and you should see it near the bottom of the page.

  16. #276
    Senior Member Athena's Avatar
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    Arrow

    Chapter 35 The Reincarnation Of The Shade

    Yu Peiyu continued:"Not only did he not rest, he did not even eat nor drink."
    He smiled a bit before he continued:"Everytime he wanted to sit down to eat or drink he would see the Child Prodigy passing by. That is why he did not rest and hurried over to Wuhan City and he finally reached The Yellow Crane Restaurant. However when he looked up he saw the Child Prodigy already sitting at the first floor and waving at him."
    Zhu Lei'Er clapped her hands and said:"A wonderful story!"
    Iron Blossom asked:"What happened with Blood Shadow? Did he commit suicide?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"He was an evil man but he always kept to his word, besides when he reached Wuhan he was too exhausted to even stand. Even if he had the intention to run the attending heroes will not let him escape."
    Iron Blossom said:"So an infamous villain died at the hands of a small boy."
    Yu Peiyu said:"Exactly."
    Zhu Lei'Er said enthusiastically:"A small boy of only 14 years old having such tremendous martial arts is truly amazing."
    Yu Peiyu shook his head and smiled:"The Child Prodigy had good martial arts but compared to Blood Shadow he still had a long way to go."
    Zhu Lei'Er did not understand and asked:"But how did he win?"
    Iron Blossom thought for a minute and said:"Perhaps because he was younger than Blood Shadow, he could outrun him."
    Yu Peiyu shook his head and smiled again:"No, that is not it."
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Well, what was it?"
    Yu Peiyu smiled:"Care to guess a few times?"
    Zhu Lei'Er lowered her head and looked pensive for some time, after some time she clapped her hands and said:"I understand now, the Child Prodigy were twins, so the brothers could deceive Blood Shadow. Everytime one brother would quickly travel ahead to fool Blood Shadow."
    Yu Peiyu laughed:"Not right."
    Zhu Lei'Er was surprised and said:"Wrong again?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"Blood Shadow was an amazingly clever man, he couldn't be deceived that easily. Furthermore even with a good steed it was quite impossible to catch up with him."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Maybe...maybe...they took a short cut."
    Yu Peiyu said:"Blood Shadow's route was already the shortest."
    Zhu Lei'Er smiled wryly:"I.....I....give up, I really don't have a clue."
    Iron Blossom suddenly said loudly:"I know!"
    Yu Peiyu looked at her and just said:"Hmm?"
    Iron Blossom said:"The Child Prodigy found a group of children about his age and size and told them to dress up like him and fool Blood Shadow. In every small town or stop Blood Shadow would see a small boy passing by."
    Yu Peiyu shook his head and said:"No, you're wrong again."
    Iron Blossom said with surprise:"Wrong again?!?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"As said before Blood Shadow is not a man who is easily fooled, he had very keen eyes so it would have impossible to use your plan to fool him."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"You're right, there is bound to be a flaw in all those disguises if that plan would be used. Besides finding more than ten children about the same size as the Child Prodigy would also be extremely difficult."
    Yu Peiyu added:"Also because the Child Prodigy studied a rather unique type of martial arts, it was impossible for others to imitate his movements. That is why Blood Shadow did not see through the Child Prodigy's plan."
    Iron Blossom smiled wryly too:"I'm totally confused! How did the Child Prodigy succeed?"
    Yu Peiyu laughed:"Actually it is not that difficult to guess at all, not twins but quintuplets. Five brothers looking identical."

    Yang Zijiang was adamant not to let the people out of the boxes, and everyone had tied a box to their backs. That was why Zhu Lei'Er was not that happy and also all of them were quite tired, that is why Yu Peiyu told a story to keep everyone's spirit up. After listening to Yu Peiyu's tale Iron Blossom and Zhu Lei'Er did not feel that tired anymore.
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Originally I thought you weren't a good story teller, but it turns out you're absolutely wonderful in telling stories."
    Iron Blossom said:"A story of five brothers looking identical, truly hilarious."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"These five brothers will never get married."
    Iron Blossom asked:"Why do you say that?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Girls will never want to marry them after hearing this tale."
    Iron Blossom asked:"Why?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"What if they decided to play the same joke on their wives, no girl can take that."
    She blushed immediately after saying that.
    Iron Blossom laughed:"You're right, if there is even a small mistake the outcome would be disastrous."
    She too now blushed.
    Yu Peiyu laughed:"Do you know why I told you this story?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Do you mean that those Shades are quintuplets too?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"No, they're not quintuplets, but were created to look like each other."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"I couldn't see they were wearing disguises."
    Yu Peiyu sighed:"The normal type of the art of disguise can only fool people for a short time and can easily be seen through. However if one can successfully combine the art of disguise with sophisticated surgical techniques and when these "alterations" were brought on when they were young they can easily made
    identical to each other. And with herbal drugs they are being controlled and they are instructed to move exactly the same as each other. They have been manipulated to become mere puppets."
    He paused for awhile before sighing again:"This may sound unbelievable, but I can guarantee you that there are people who are capable of doing this."
    Zhu Lei'Er was amazed and scared when she heard this and said:"So with those drugs people will fall into the spell of this evil mastermind and their faces will be carved as he pleases."
    Yu Peiyu said:"Right."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"In other words the second Shade was responsible for injuring Hai Dongqing, because he knew all the stances and variations of Yang Zijiang."
    Yu Peiyu said:"True! Because Hai Dongqing and Yang Zijiang are martial arts brothers and studied, learnt the same type of martial arts."
    Zhu Lei'Er sighed:"That is why Yang Zijiang regained his confidence when he heard you. Initially he was scared out of his wits why Shade would know his martial arts."
    Yu Peiyu said:"If there is a third Shade, he would not be a threat. Because the third Shade would not know his martial arts, but Yang Zijiang had fought the two Shades already and has naturally grasped how to defeat them. Furthermore the changes, variations in Shade's martial arts are not many."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"That is why you're not worried about him now, right?"
    Yu Peiyu just smiled and did not answer, Iron Blossom sighed:"One can count himself very lucky if he is a friend of young master Yu."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"No matter what, I still do not entirely trust Yang Zijiang. His actions are most peculiar and strange, I have no idea what his objectives are."
    Someone sighed:"He has his reasons for being secretive, he won't reveal anything till it really is necessary."
    Hai Dongqing had awaken now, Yu Peiyu was carrying him all the way here and he now gradually had woken up.
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Thank goodness! You're awake, till when are you going to keep this a secret? And when is this necessary time of yours?"
    Hai Dongqing said earnestly:"I cannot tell you now, it is still too soon."
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why?"
    Hai Dongqing now got up and stood on his own said:"Because this secret is no longer a secret anymore."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"What do you mean? This is obviously a secret."
    Hai Dongqing said:"There are some people who cannot keep a secret and you....."
    Zhu Lei'Er interrupted:"Fine....fine! I don't care about your secret! I just want to ask you who are you? And what does [The mysteries of Heaven and Earth, flowing through the universe] mean?"
    Hai Dongqing stayed quiet for a minute and said:"Yang Zijiang and I were orphans and our teacher could be said is our parent."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"I already know you're orphans but who is your teacher?"
    Hai Dongqing looked a bit angry and said coldly:"This is a long story, if you want to listen do not interrupt."
    Zhu Lei'Er pouted:"Well! It is not that I have to listen to your story."
    Hai Dongqing said:"Even if you don't want to hear it, I have to tell it."
    Zhu Lei'Er laughed:"A typical stubborn mule!"
    Hai Dongqing did not pay attention to her and turned to Yu Peiyu:"I wanted to tell you this for a long time, because this story does involve you brother Yu."
    Yu Peiyu's face changed a bit but still did not speak. Hai Dongqing added:"My teacher has retreated from wordly affairs a long time ago. I doubt it that you would have heard of my teacher's name, I do not wish to boast about my teacher. But I can guarantee you that my teacher is truly an amazing person and my teacher was already invincible in the realm 50 years ago."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Perhaps because your teacher did not encouter people like master Feng San and only met other lesser opponents."
    Hai Dongqing still ignored her and said:"My teacher had only one adversary, this person was also an amazing character. He not only had exceptional martial arts but he was also well-versed in numerous fields, however he was too vicious and evil. My teacher and another Wulin senior forced him to flee to the outskirts of China and made him promise never to set foot again in China as long as my teacher and that other Wulin senior are still alive."
    Yu Peiyu was surprised and asked:"Who is this adversary?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"My teacher did not reveal his name but just said he is called Mr. Dongguo."
    Yu Peiyu frowned and said:"Mr Donggou?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"It is not strange that brother Yu has not heard of his name, because he has kept his promise and has lived in the western borders of China for 30 years and has not set foot in China."
    Yu Peiyu sighed:"The heretic experts of 30 years ago knew how to keep their word, the present heretic martial artists cannot be compared to the old ones."
    Hai Dongqing said:"This Dongguo fellow did not repent for his past crimes, it is just that he doesn't dare to openly commit atrocities."
    He sighed deeply before continueing:"According to my teacher he has been planning something big in the past 30 years and wants to dominate the realm of martial arts. Now my teacher has retired and the other Wulin senior has passed away years ago, so he believes his time has come. He....he....."
    At this point Hai Dongqing was feeling very tired and couldn't even stand properly now.
    Iron Blossom put down her box and helped him sit on it, she cared a lot for Hai Dongqing because he is the martial arts brother of her husband, Yang Zijiang.
    Zhu Lei'Er asked with great concern:"Do you mean that old Dongguo has returned with his evil plans?"
    Hai Dongqing sighed:"Although my teacher has kept a watchful eye on this Dongguo even in retirement. But Dongguo is a very cunning old fox and has managed to conceal his crimes perfectly without evidence my teacher cannot openly expose him yet. However a few months ago my teacher left without a word and came back three months later and told us to do something after return."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"What was that task?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"My teacher instructed us to spy on the present chancellor of Wulin, Yu Fanghe."
    Yu Peiyu looked very serious and said:"So Yu Fang... this Yu person is just a puppet of Dongguo, I knew he would have a powerful person helping him."
    Hai Dongqing said:"My teacher never likes to say too much, we as disciples just put the pieces together and deducted this much. Mr. Dongguo has not revealed himself yet and has a man with a wonderful reputation doing his dirty jobs. Yu Fanghe is a hypocritical fiend and using him is perfect."
    Yu Peiyu's face changed but still did not speak yet.
    Zhu Lei'Er suddenly remembered something and said:"No wonder when Yu Fanghe made a gesture to Tian Chixing, Tian Chixing immediately stopped creating trouble for Yu Fanghe. He too must know of the skills of Mr. Dongguo."
    Hai Dongqing said coldly:"With the exception of my teacher no one in the world can withstand a blow from Mr. Dongguo. Feng San......*humph."
    He did not finish his sentence but his meaning was obvious.
    Zhu Lei'Er did not retort back this time, because she knew that Tian Chixing's martial arts was about the same with her third uncle. And if Tian Chixing feared Mr. Dongguo, imagine how powerful Dongguo could be.
    Zhu Lei'Er did not wish to discuss that matter right now but asked:"But what does [The mysteries of Heaven and Earth, flowing through the universe] mean?"
    Hai Dongqing explained:"Mr. Dongguo could not meet up with Yu Fanghe himself so he sent two emissaries on his behalf. These emmisaries were intercepted by my teacher and found out that the sentence [The mysteries of Heaven and Earth, flowing through the universe] was their secret code."
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why did they reveal that secret code to your teacher?"
    Hai Dongqing said casually:"Almost everyone will have to tell the truth when they face my teacher."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"So your teacher instructed you to pass off as the two emissaries as to fool Yu Fanghe."
    Hai Dongqing said:"Indeed."
    Zhu Lei'Er sighed:"That is why Yu Fanghe would trust you two that much."
    Hai Dongqing continued:"Mr. Dongguo has entrusted Yu Fanghe with that much authority, meaning that Yu Fanghe is also a formidable man. After meeting up with him a few times we noticed that Yu Fanghe is a very cunning and intelligent old fiend. It will not be easy to deal with him, so we do as we are told by him."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"That is why you brought presents for him?"
    Hai Dongqing said coldly:"What do the lives of a few matter, when the entire Wulin is at stake. Besides we will not take the lives of innocent, all these we have dealt with are people who deserve this fate. If we are truly vicious brother Yu would have been dead a long time ago."
    Zhu Lei'Er smiled:"At least you still know to differ good from evil, if not you wouldn't live till now."
    Although she knew that Hai Dongqing and Yang Zijiang stood at their side, but still she could not prevent herself from argueing with Hai Dongqing.
    Hai Dongqing ignored that remark and continued:"Our cover was flawless, but we did not anticipate that Mr. Dongguo would send a few extra emissaries to Yu Fanghe. When they met Yu Fanghe our cover was blown and Yu Fanghe sent people to deal with us."
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Do you mean those Shades?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"Correct, our teacher has mentioned that Mr. Dongguo had five Shades as his students, lackeys. And every Shade has six identical look-alikes, Mr Dongguo is well-versed in the art of disguise and his medical skills are also excellent. He combined both together and surgically changed the appearances of the Shades."
    Yu Peiyu looked very pale now, the secret he hoped to unravel was finally beginning to make sense now to him.
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Since your teacher already told you about Shade, why was Yang Zijiang still afraid when he saw them?"
    Hai Dongqing explained:"My teacher had only recently discovered this secret and just a few days ago I saw my teacher and was told about this. Younger brother Yang was still with Yu Fanghe at the time, so he was not informed about the Shades. This is the first time I saw him since a long time."
    Zhu Lei'Er sighed:"No wonder when Shade recited those two lines Yang Zijiang's face changed, because he knew his identity was exposed."
    Iron Blossom said worriedly:"This Shade has another six look-alikes, but...but....that means that another four of them will be .........Can he handle all of them?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"Every Shade consists of seven bodies, I killed two bodies of this Shade."
    Iron Blossom said worriedly:"But....but there are still three of them....."
    Zhu Lei'Er said gently:"Do not worry, an expert like Yang Zijiang is not afraid of three mere ghosts. He wouldn't be afraid of 300 ghosts."
    Iron Blossom smiled but everyone could see she was dying of worry.
    Hai Dongqing said:"When three of those Shades would attack, Yang Zijiang will not be able to withstand their combined attack. However because they are controlled by drugs which makes them very slow. That is why I could even escape when I was severly injured. I think that Yang Zijiang can surely escape from them
    even when he is outnumbered by them."
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"What about us? What is this place? Who created this tunnel and for what purpose?"
    Hai Dongqing said casually:"This is not our concern, our main concern is that exit out of here."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Are you sure there is an exit? What if there is only a dead end here?"
    Hai Dongqing frowned and said:"At least I am quite sure this tunnel won't lead us to the netherworld."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"I have to differ on that, the entrance of this underground tunnel could be compared to the entrance to the ........"
    She did not finish her sentence, she felt a cold breeze that made her shiver till her spine.
    Yu Peiyu turned to Hai Dongqing and asked:"Brother Hai, I....I would like to ask you for a favour....."
    Hai Dongqing said:"Brother Yu, do you wish to meet my teacher?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"Yes, indeed."
    Hai Dongqing shook his head and said:"This is most difficult."
    Yu Peiyu said:"I really have important matters to discuss and to ask your teacher."
    Hai Dongqing asked:"Why?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"I have an important secret that I have to tell your teacher."
    He looked very sad now and continued:"Maybe because only your teacher will understand and believe what I have been through. I just hope your teacher will be able to grant me an audience, brother Hai I just want you to inform your teacher that I would like to meet him. Whether he sees me or not is really up to heaven."
    Hai Dongqing stayed silent for a minute before saying:"Does this have to do with the plans of Mr. Dongguo?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"Indeed and it is of great importance."
    Hai Dongqing asked:"Could you tell me what this is?"
    Yu Peiyu sighed deeply:"It is not that I do not trust brother Hai, but....but.....this....this...."
    He started to shiver and could not continue.
    Hai Dongqing saw Yu Peiyu's expression and sighed:"It is not that I do not wish to help you, but our teacher has not seen outsiders for more than 20 years. Our teacher has strictly forbidden us to reveal the whereabouts and goings concerning master. I cannot go against the orders of my teacher I hope you can understand."
    Yu Peiyu smiled sadly and nodded, he said after some time:"I understand."
    Hai Dongqing said:"Our teacher might meet up with you at any time in the future, who knows you might
    have met master already. My teacher's habits are most peculiar."
    Yu Peiyu nodded and was suddenly stunned like he remembered something.
    Hai Dongqing got up and said:"We don't know how long this tunnel is, let us continue."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"What about these three chests? Why do we have to carry them along? Can't we just free the people insided the chests and let them walk on their own?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"The people in the box won't wake up for some time and it is no use letting them out. Let us carry the chests along with us."
    Zhu Lei'Er stamped her feet and said:"How very fortunate."

    The tunnel was illuminated by old lamps and gave the tunnel an extra eerie feeling.
    Zhu Lei'Er suddenly said:"Do you know how many lamps we have passed?"
    Yu Peiyu knew that she could never keep quiet and would always come up with some new questions after some time. And those questions would be most strange.
    Nobody understood why she would ask a question like that and nobody know how to answer her so they kept quiet.
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Till now, we have passed 39 lamps. Isn't that strange?"
    Hai Dongqing could not control himself and asked:"What is so strange about that?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said coldly:"You don't think this is strange because you see but do not observe. Furthermore you do not think ahead."
    Hai Dongqing coldly replied:"Because I have more pressing matters to think about than a few lamps."
    Zhu Lei'Er did not retort but just stared at a lamp, Hai Dongqing stopped too and stood still and looked at the lamp too. After some time he said:"I can't see anything strange about this lamp."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Really?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"Have you noticed something?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Yes, I have. Strange, very strange, most strange."
    Hai Dongqing asked:"What is strange?"
    Zhu Lei'Er pouted:"Well, if this is so unsignificant why bother asking."
    Hai Dongqing was angry now but did not know what to say back. A worried Iron Blossom was very amused to see this and even smiled. She noticed that Zhu Lei'Er had a fantastic ability to make people angry, even surpassing using poison.
    When men meet girls like her, the best thing for them to do is to keep silent.
    However Zhu Lei'Er has met her match too, when she is with Yu Peiyu she is always very obedient and nice.
    Because Yu Peiyu will not speak when it is not the proper time to talk.
    Zhu Lei'Er smiled proudly:"There are in total 39 lamps at this moment in this tunnel, there are at least four, five strange clues about these lamps. If you are as intelligent as I you will see what I mean."
    Yu Peiyu smiled:"Girls are more precise than men, I don't know and I have been thinking about your question too for some time."
    Zhu Lei'Er smiled even happier now and said:"We passed 39 lamps and still have not found the exit yet. This means that this is a very long tunnel and there aren't that many long tunnels."
    Yu Peiyu said:"Indeed."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"The person who constructed this tunnel must have a special reason for constructing such a long tunnel. If he wanted an escape route he could have made the exit anywhere there is no need to create such a long passage."
    Yu Peiyu looked very earnest now and said:"True."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"The construction of such a long tunnel should take about three to five years, Yang Zijiang started to roam the realm only recently. This means this tunnel was not built on his orders."
    Iron Blossom asked:"Could it be their teacher?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"No. If so he would also know about this passage." And she looked at Hai Dongqing.
    Iron Blossom nodded in agreement.
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"The person who constructed this must have an secret plan for this tunnel, but how and why would Yang Zijiang know about this."
    Iron Blossom said:"Maybe this passage was constructed a very long time ago and Yang Zijiang only discovered it recently."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Impossible."
    Iron Blossom asked:"Why?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"The cottage in which you live in must be build at the same time when the construction of this passage begun. The cottage is not very old, taken very broadly about ten years."
    Iron Blossom said:"It could have been renovated....."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"The house is just a cover to protect this secret passage. Furthermore there is an even more important reason."
    Iron Blossom asked:"What is that?"
    Zhu Lei'Er pointed at a lamp and said:"These lamps."
    Iron Blossom said with surprise:"Lamps?"
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Right, these lamps. Let me ask you, how long can lamps like these burn without adding oil?"
    Iron Blossom said:"Without adding oil an ordinary lamp will burn out in just one evening. These bronze lamps are bigger so I would say an entire day."
    Zhu Lei'Er clapped her hands and said:"There! These lamps are still burning and that means that everyday someone is adding oil to them."
    She blinked and continued:"Furthermore Yang Zijiang was not here recently so someone else must have added the oil."
    Iron Blossom was most surprised and exclaimed:"Who can it be?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said seriously:"Maybe the person who constructed this passage or his servant. But one thing is sure there is someone else in this passage and he may be spying on us right now."
    The soft wind blew through the passage and the fires swayed with the wind giving the tunnel an extra chilly and horrifying atmosphere.
    Iron Blossom looked around and could imagine someone looking at them with an evil smile.
    She shivered and smiled with difficulty:"Why am I such a coward now?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"I hear that women become cowards after getting married."
    Hai Dongqing said:"Even if there is another person here, he has no ill intentions otherwise Yang Zijiang would not tell us to go in here."
    Zhu Lei'Er said coldly:"Not necessarily."
    She did not give Hai Dongqing to speak and added:"It could be that he doesn't know that there is another person in this passage. Or perhaps he coincidentally found this empty house and decided to reside here since nobody lives here anyway....."
    Iron Blossom said:"Exactly! When he first took me to this place I noticed the house was covered with a thick layer of dust."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"On the other hand he must have discovered this place a long time ago, otherwise he would not arrange a meeting with Wang Yuluo and others here."
    She looked at Hai Dongqing and continued:"You must know of this place, right? If not you would not flee here."
    Hai Dongqing said:"Wang Yuluo told me about this place, before I did not know of its existence." He looked a bit unsecure now and continued:"Anyway there is someone else here. There is no point in guessing let us find that person first."
    Yu Peiyu smiled:"We don't need to look for him, he is bound to look for us."
    Iron Blossom looked around and said:"I don't know who this person is. But I do hope he would show himself soon."
    Zhu Lei'Er said indifferently:"If it is person there is no reason why we should fear him, but if he isn't human then we have a problem."
    Iron Blossom shivered and unintentionally moved closer to Yu Peiyu, Zhu Lei'Er laughed:"I don't think you are really scared, you just want to...."
    Before Zhu Lei'Er could finish her sentence the fire died out. They all could see a flash of light up ahead of the next lamp and everyone rushed over to it, however when they got there the fire died out too.
    It was pitch dark now in the passage and everyone was very worried now.
    Zhu Lei'Er said softly:"If I could buy a lamp or lamp oil now I would give the vendor all the taels of silver I had just for one lamp and a bit of oil."
    Hai Dongqing said:"I have a paper flint."
    Yu Peiyu asked:"How long can your paper flint last?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"I have used it twice already, we could use it for another hour or so."
    Zhu Lei'Er said loudly:"Take it out! We might find the exit in that hour or so."
    Yu Peiyu said:"What if we cannot?"
    Zhu Lei'Er was stunned but said:"Let us try anyway."
    Yu Peiyu said:"No we cannot try. This paper flint is our only hope if the flint dies out too we will be stuck here and will never see another sunrise again."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"We can always go back."
    Yu Peiyu said:"No, we cannot go back."
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"This passage looks like it is just one straight route however it has its corners and turns. We cannot recognize the way back just by touching the wall, we might walk around in circles in the end."
    Iron Blossom said with fear:"So the lamps were extinguised by that person?"
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Did you see anyone?"
    Iron Blossom said:"No...but.....but...."
    Zhu Lei'Er smiled:"Don't tell me that you think that person knows how to cloak himself?"
    Although she was joking she could not help herself but to grap hold of Yu Peiyu's arm.
    Hai Dongqing said:"We can't stand here either."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"You're right, when outside we could wait till it is day. But we cannot stay here and wait till the lamps burn again."
    Yu Peiyu said:"We move forward by touching the wall and we will use the paper flint only if necessary."
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"But when is necessary?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"This....this...."
    Hai Dongqing said:"This time I have to agree with Zhu.....Miss Zhu. We should use the flint and dash forward and hope we can make it before the flint dies out too."
    Iron Blossom said:"I agree. It is all or nothing now."
    Hai Dongqing said:"To move quicker we have no choice but to leave the chests behind, when we find the exit we will find a way to come back for them and save them."
    Yu Peiyu said:"And if we cannot find the exit?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"If we cannot find the exit all of us are doomed."
    Yu Peiyu stayed quiet for some time and sighed in the end:"I don't know if you're doing the right thing. However three minds are better than one I believe....."
    The paper flint could not shine very far but at least there was some light. Everyone was very anxious because the oblivious darkness could really destroy the spirit and courage of everyone.
    Yu Peiyu lead the way with the flint in his hand, they walked very fast. Although Hai Dongqing was injured he was pulled along by Yu Peiyu making sure he would not fall back.
    However this passage was too long, really too awfully long......
    Hai Dongqing looked at the paper flint of Yu Peiyu and sighed:"The flint will die out soon."
    The flame of the flint was gradually becoming weaker and weaker. Zhu Lei'Er said hatefully:"Why are our clothes not made of paper!
    Yu Peiyu remembered that notebook he found in the Family Li Village, the same notebook Yu Fanghe was after. But Yu Peiyu did not notice anything strange about it, he even put the notebook in water to see whether Zhu Mei used special ink to write.
    However Yu Peiyu knew that Yu Fanghe would not burn down an entire village for an empty notebook, so he kept it in his robe ever since.
    Finally that notebook could be put into use, he took it out and thought that every page could be used slowly. But the strange thing was that the pages did not catch fire. In fact the normal blank pages were covered with characters now.
    Zhu Lei'Er cried out with surprise:"Why....why isn't it burning?"
    Yu Peiyu surpressed his surprise with difficulty and said:"I think the pages are wet."
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Why?"
    Yu Peiyu said:"It must be my sweat."
    Zhu Lei'Er stayed quiet for some time and said:"You're right everyone is bound to be anxious in a position like this. It is only natural that you would sweat."
    Iron Blossom said:"Now the flint has died out too. What can we do?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"What CAN we do? Feel free to suggest anything! Why did you lot insist on using that paper flint earlier?"
    Iron Blossom retorted:"But...but that was your idea."
    Zhu Lei'Er shouted:"Why did you listen to my idea? Why didn't you listen to Yu Peiyu's plan? It is your own fault that you are trapped in here!"
    Suddenly Iron Blossom heard someone crying softly, it was Zhu Lei'Er.
    Hai Dongqing said coldly:"It is a pity that tears cannot provide fire, otherwise all of us could sit here and cry."
    Zhu Lei'Er got back up and shouted:"Who says I am crying? Why should I cry? Although we can't see a thing we can still walk."
    Yu Peiyu said:"Exactly! I will hold brother Hai's hand, you hold his hand and Iron Blossom will hold your hand. That way we will not be separated from each other."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"I rather hold on to the paw of a dog than hold his hand."
    Iron Blossom said:"Allright, I will hold his hand and you will hold my hand."
    Zhu Lei'Er grunted.
    She held out her hand into the direction of Iron Blossom's voice and held on to a hand, it was not too big and not too small. She guessed it was the hand of Iron Blossom.
    Suddenly Hai Dongqing laughed:"You're holding on to the paw of a dog."
    Zhu Lei'Er was shocked and wanted to let go but did not, she smiled:"At least you're grand enough to admit it."
    The girl who was sad and crying was now smiling again, who can stay angry with a girl like that.
    Yu Peiyu lead the way and used his other hand to touch the wall to move forward, he also noticed that the wall was really rough like it was built in a hurry.
    They walked for a very long time, and were looking for subjects to talk about. Because if you cannot see a thing at least you would like to hear some sound.
    But in the end everybody ran out of subjects to talk about, even Zhu Lei'Er was surprised that she did not know what to talk about anymore.
    Everyone was exhausted and desperate, their only hope was that the exit would soon appear before them.
    After walking for some time Zhu Lei'Er tripped over something and she dragged along Hai Dongqing in her fall.
    Iron Blossom asked with fear:"What is it?"
    Nobody answered her, she shouted loudly:"Why won't anyone answer me?"
    But in fact everybody knew what that was, but they did not want to admit it. In the end Yu Peiyu said:"It is a chest."
    Iron Blossom repeated:"A chest.....a chest......The same chests we left behind?"
    She mustered all her courage to say those words and when she heard Yu Peiyu say:"Yes, they are." She was completely gone, she called out and sat down with despair.
    It felt like they walked for seven, eight hours and in the end they came back where they started.
    Zhu Lei'Er sat down, she was exhausted too and she had no hope of getting out anymore. Nothing in the world could make her walk again.
    After some time Yu Peiyu said:"Guo Pianxian or Ji Lingfeng might have paper flints on them."
    Zhu Lei'Er immediately jumped up and said:"Right! Why didn't we think of that earlier?"
    She moved slowly into the direction of the chests and used her hands to guide herself to them. Iron Blossom wanted to do the same thing but suddenly she heard two sharp cr. It was Zhu Lei'Er and Yu Peiyu.
    Iron Blossom asked with fear:"What is wrong?"
    Zhu Lei'Er stuttered with fear:"The.....the.....chests.....are....are....emp ty......."
    Iron Blossom jumped up and fell back again and said:"Empty.........? Could it be that they woke up and left
    themselves?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Impossible! The locks were forced open from the outside."Iron Blossom said:"Could perhaps one of them had woken up and freed the others?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"No, all three locks were broken from the outside."
    She tried her best to stay calm but her voice was trembling. They already guessed that someone else was here in this passage too, but they hope their own deduction was inaccuarate. However this deduction became a fact now and this person was spying on them and was lurking about.
    Zhu Lei'Er sighed:"Why won't he show himself to us?"
    Hai Dongqing said:"Don't you understand?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"No, I don't."
    Hai Dongqing said:"Because he wants us to slowly die in here."
    Iron Blossom said fearfully:"But why? We have done nothing to him...."
    Hai Dongqing said:"We have discovered his secret, for that alone we will have to die."
    Suddenly they heard a series of strange noises like crying, sighing and sneering. This only made their spirits even more desperate and scared.
    Iron Blossom smiled wryly:"Why scare us? We are already suffering now."
    Hai Dongqing said:"Some people have difficulty staying quiet."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"What and who do you mean with those words?"
    Hai Dongqing laughed:"I'm just surprised how you can make those noises."
    Zhu Lei'Er said coldly:"Some people don't have the courage to admit their own deeds and try to shift the responsibility to others."
    Hai Dongqing said:"So you're shifting it to me now."
    Zhu Lei'Er angrilly said:"Are you deaf? That was a voice of a man!"
    Hai Dongqing stayed quiet now and said after some time:"So it wasn't you?"
    Zhu Lei'Er said with indignation:"Of course not! Who would make a sily joke like that now!"
    Hai Dongqing said:"It wasn't me."
    Iron Blossom stuttered with fear:"But if it wasn't you, who.....who...was....it....it?"
    Zhu Lei'Er asked:"Wasn't it you?"
    Iron Blossom quickly said:"Of course not! I'm scared out of my wits at this moment, I don't have the mood to scare other people at this time."
    No one asked Yu Peiyu, because they knew Yu Peiyu would never make a meaningless joke like that. All of a sudden they were dumbstruck by fear, there was another fifth person near them now.
    Nobody could see this fifth person and they had no idea where he was hiding.
    Zhu Lei'Er suddenly loudly shouted:"Yes, I saw you already! Come out now, there is no point in hiding!"
    Iron Blossom was shocked but immediately guessed that Zhu Lei'Er was using a ruse to lure that fifth person out.
    She too loudly said:"Come out! There is no use in hiding now!"
    Both of them loudly called out for some time, but nobody made an appearance. Their words had no impact on the fifth person but the two of them were breaking out in a cold sweat because of the fear.
    Yu Peiyu slowly said:"There is no voice, you're just mistaken."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"I....I heard it myself....."
    Yu Peiyu said:"I did not hear a thing."
    He suddenly held tightly to Zhu Lei'Er's hand and whispered:"Hold on to each other's hands. We will form a circle to surround him"
    Zhu Lei'Er held Iron Blossom's hand and Iron Blossom held on to Hai Dongqing's hand. After walking foward seven, eight paces they did not encounter anyone.
    Zhu Lei'Er suddenly said with shock:"Why is this place so broad now?"
    The passage was quite narrow and with difficulty four persons could walk next to each other but no nobody could even touch the walls anymore of the passage.
    Suddenly Iron Blossom pouted to Zhu Lei'Er:"Stop squeezing my hand so hard."
    Zhu Lei'Er said with a slight indignation:"What? I did not do such a thing."
    Hai Dongqing said:"It is not me."
    Iron Blossom said with a sharp tone:"Yes, you're on my right side. But my left hand....."
    She did not finish her sentence, she suddenly noticed that she was not holding on to Zhu Lei'Er's hand. Zhu Lei'Er herself also noticed that she was not holding Iron Blossom's hand. The hand they were holding was cold and hard.
    Both let go and yelled:"Who are you?" And jumped backwards.
    In the darkness they could hear some laughing.
    The laughing came from between them and in an instant it came from metres away from them. Zhu Lei'Er and Iron Blossom thought that this man could have killed them most easily when he was holding their hands and both broke out in a cold sweat again.
    They could hear Yu Peiyu say:"This is not the same route we took earlier."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"But those boxes...."
    Yu Peiyu said:"Those chests were moved over here to make us belief we have walked in a circle."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"What is this place?"
    From a narrow passage they now were in a most strange and mysterious place.
    Yu Peiyu did not answer he was thinking deeply about this.
    Suddenly a voice said:"This is my home, it is quite allright. There is food and wine on the table, help yourselves."
    The voice sounded sharp and soft like that of an child. Normally Zhu Lei'Er would be amused to hear this kind of voice but now it sounded like the cry of a ghost.
    Suddenly the lamps here were lit and they saw that they were in a stone hall, althought the light was not too bright but not having seen light for hours, the light made their eyes blink.
    They saw about more than ten men in the hall, some were playing go others were reading and admiring paintings. Some were sitting behind a zither.
    It looked very distinguished and refined, but these men wore worker's clothes and did not look like literary people.
    A group of men were sitting at a table with food and drinks, they looked like a ruffians but were sitting very elegantly and were gracefully holding a cup of wine. But both of them were not drinking.
    Zhu Lei'Er never thought that there would be so many people here and was a bit shocked. Although these people did not look like martial arts experts, but their appearance here made them very mysterious. Nobody dared to look down upon them.
    The voice of earlier spoke again:"The host has invited you, why so formal? Please join me." The voice came from the table with food and wine, the man was not very tall but wore a straw hat normal people would wear to protect themselves from the sun. This way his face was hidden from Yu Peiyu and others.
    Yu Peiyu said calmly:"In that case, we will kindly oblige."
    None of the other people moved and were quite indifferent to the coming of Yu Peiyu and others. Zhu Lei'Er was a bit angry by that.
    There was four, five empty seats just enough for them.
    Yu Peiyu sat down and smiled:"May I know your family name, sir?"
    The speaker was still wearing his big straw hat and said:"We ask for my family name, since you are actually unexpected guests."
    The other persons did not look at Yu Peiyu and the others at all, and the host was not revealing his face and identity to them.
    These people wore normal worker's robes but did have quite expensive hats decorated with pears.
    Zhu Lei'Er said loudly:"Your clothes and hat are out of place, don't you all think so?"
    She deliberately wanted to provoke an emotion from these lot.
    Only the host answered, he smiled:"We should embrace everything we have whether it is expensive or cheap."
    His clothes matched him perfectly, which made him rather the odd man out.
    Zhu Lei'Er said coldly:"Why won't you remove your straw hat?"
    The man laughed:"You have very inquisitive, but shouldn't you be eating with your mouth instead of asking a lot questions."
    Zhu Lei'Er said:"Not necessarily."
    The man laughed:"If you don't eat, you will starve to death."
    Zhu Lei'Er said coldly:"If you tell me to keep silent and ever to talk again, I would rather die."


    End of chapter 35
    So huge, so hopeless, to conceive
    As these that twice befell
    Parting is all we know of heaven
    And all we need of hell.

    Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

  17. #277
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    Thanks for the update Athena!

  18. #278
    Senior Member BluLotus's Avatar
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    Yu n Co. are in a stone hall with mysterious people. Who's the person with the straw hat? What are those people doing here? What will happen to Yu n Co.? Until next time on TSATE!

    Thanks, Athena .
    AKA: Frantasy

    Translating: Ni Tian Xie Shen (逆天邪神) – Against the Gods by Mars Gravity @ https://alyschu.wordpress.com/

  19. #279
    Senior Member charbydis's Avatar
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    Why is the host answering all the time? I am starting to think that these people are not people at all! Or they could have had their acupoints sealed! I hope Yang Zi Jiang escapes!
    "Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."
    Cyril Connolly

  20. #280
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    Maybe the other people in the cavern are remaining silent because they just don't care about Yu PeiYu and friends.

    A short guy concealing his face, I might know who that is

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