A Deadly Secret (連城訣)

[devilz91]

Didn't see a full translation for this up anywhere, so I guess I'll do it since I'm reading this right now and got leisure time. My Chinese isn't super good but I'll give it a shot.

[devilz91]

You can read from the unabridged thread here.

[devilz91]

Chapter 1
The Countrymen Enter the City

Ting! Ting Ting Ting! Ting! Ting Ting!

Two wooden swords clashed, colliding with each other with intense force which emitted rattling sounds. Sometimes there were intermissions between collisions and no sounds were heard, other times the swords collided quite fiercely.

This was the village of Maqi located in the Yuanling province in Western Hunan. On the field outside a three-room cottage, a young man and woman were practicing their sword skills. In front of the cottage, sitting on a small stool was an old man, biting on a very thin tobacco pipe while weaving straw sandals with his hands. Occasionally, he would look up at the young pair fighting, and gave a faint smile of acknowledgement. The sunlight illuminated the pale grey smoke being exhaled from his mouth, and one could see he had a head full of white hair and his face was quite wrinkled, but when he let out a breath of smoke while watching the sword fight, his eyes were filled with energy. In fact, he wasn’t really that old, no more than 50 years of age.

The girl was about 17 or 18 years old, she had a round face and big black eyes. When she was tired and sweat filled her forehead, there would be a streak of sweat streaming down on her left cheek that flowed down her neck; she would wipe the sweat with her left sleeve. Her cheeks were red like the string of red peppers hung under the eaves of the cottage. The young man she was sparring with was about two or three years older than her; his face was long and dark, his cheekbone was high, and he had rough hands and big feet. Although he was a typical peasant in the countryside of Western Hunan, the wooden sword in his hand was being handled quite dexterously.

Suddenly, the young man gave a slash from the left downwards, retreated slightly, and then unleashed a direct strike with his sword, not returning. The young girl avoided the attack by lowering her head, but the sword kept thrusting at her with strong and rapid momentum. The young man backed off two steps, swung the wooden sword out, and then with a loud cry, swept the sword horizontally three times. The girl had kept her opponent in check until now, but now withdrew her sword and stood still, defenseless.

She said in a moody voice: “I guess you’re good, okay? Just kill me!”

The young man had not anticipated that she would suddenly retract her sword and not defend, so his third strike nearly cut her waist. In an instant he quickly relinquished his attack, but the force of the strike was already emanated, and with a loud noise, the sword hit himself on the back of his left hand and he let out an “Ah!”

The girl applauded and laughed: “Aren’t you ashamed? If that was a real sword, do you think your hand would still be in tact?”

There were traces of redness on the man’s dark face, he replied: “I was afraid I would cut you, otherwise I wouldn’t have accidentally hurt myself. In a real fight, do you think I would really go easy on you like that? Shifu, why don’t you be the judge?” As he said his last word, he looked over to the old man.

The old man was still holding a half-finished straw sandal, but now stood up and said: “The two of you have fought well for about 50 stances or so, but the latter stances were executed poorly.” From the young girl’s hand he grabbed the wooden sword, position himself in a fighting stance and continued: “This technique ‘Brother Weng Shouts Up’ followed by the technique ‘Dare not Cross the Horizontal’ should be executed horizontally, not straight. Ah Fang, your two techniques ‘The Wind Suddenly Blows’ and ‘The Mountain Escapes Like a Cloth’; the image of your sword should look like a bolt of cloth running away. Ah Yun’s two techniques ‘The Falling Mud Welcomes Big Sister’ and ‘The Horse Blows a Little Wind’ was executed decently, but since the technique is called ‘A Little Wind’, you put too much strength into your strike. This swordplay has a famous name in the wulin, called the ‘Reclining Corpse Swordplay’: with every stance, the essence is to make your opponent recline like a dead body. But since we are only sparring in good spirit, there is no need to be so serious, but the ‘Reclining Corpse’ part of the name must be remembered to heart.”

She commented: “Father, our swordplay is very good, but the name of the swordplay isn’t… isn’t very good, ‘Reclining Corpse Swordplay’ sounds scary.”

The old man replied: “You can say that it is scary, but it is also equally impressive. Before the battle even begins, your opponent is already struck with fear.” He was still holding the wooden sword, and demonstrated those six techniques to the young pair. His sword movements seemed to be quite heavy, yet regressed lightly at the same time—it was in fact very deadly and powerful. The young man and woman admitted their inferiority and applauded. The old man then gave the sword to the young girl and said: “The two of you keep practicing these stances. Ah Fang, don’t always think about fooling around. If your elder martial brother did not go easy on you, do you think you would still be alive?”

The girl stuck out her tongue, and suddenly stroke with her sword in rapid speed. The young man was caught off guard and hurriedly tried to defend with his own sword, but the young girl got the initiative of striking first and in a continuous motion kept striking, the young man could find no way of counterattacking. He saw that he would be defeated, when suddenly in the northeast corner the sound of horseshoes were heard—a band of horses were fast approaching.

The young man turned and said: “Who could that be?”

The girl retorted: “You lost, don’t make up excuses. What does it matter to you who is coming?” And with another three continuous strikes the girl attacked, the young man tried hard to defend.

The young man became annoyed and said: “Just take it that I’m afraid of you, okay?”

She smiled: “You say you aren’t afraid, but you really are.” With a stroke on the left, a stroke on the right, both techniques were quite dexterous.

At that time the rider of the horse had already stood ground and shouted: “’The sky flowers fall endlessly, the birds fly everywhere! Excellent!”

The young girl let out an expression of surprise, and jumped in a backwards direction to face the rider. She saw that he was about 23 or 24 years of age, and wore elegant clothing, most likely the attire of one of the rich families in the city. She couldn’t help but blush a bit, and spoke softly: “Father, how… how does he know?”

The old man saw and heard the equestrian speak out the name of his daughter’s two techniques she had just executed, and felt surprised also. At this moment, the equestrian wished to consult with them and got off his horse, he went forward and said: “May I ask elder, in Maqi there is a renowned swordsman by the name of ‘Iron Lock Across the River’ Qi Zhangfa, do you know where he lives?”

The old man replied: “I am Qi Zhangfa, the title of ‘renowned swordsman’ I do not dare to receive. May I ask why you are looking for me?”

The young man kowtowed and said: “Junior Bu Yuan, greets Uncle Qi. I come on behalf of my Shifu to come visit you.”

Qi Zhangfa replied: “No need for such salutations.” He helped the young man up with his hands, both arms felt energy. Bu Yuan only felt half his body a bit numb, his face was flushed red.

Bu Yuan said: “Uncle Qi must be testing Junior; our first meeting and already I have been embarrassed.”

Qi Zhangfa smiled and replied: “Your neigong is a bit weaker than my students. Which disciple of Brother Wan are you?”

Bu Yuan’s face was a bit red again and said: “Junior is Shifu’s fifth unsuccessful student. Shifu often mentions that Uncle Qi’s neigong is profound, how else would you provoke Junior so easily?”

Qi Zhangfa let out a big laugh and said: “How is Brother Wan doing? We old brothers have not seen each other in over ten years.”

Bu Yuan said: “Thanks to elder’s fortune, my Shifu is well. Those two brother and sister, are they elder’s disciples? Their sword techniques are profound!”

Qi Zhangfa made a hand gesture and said: “Ah Yun, Ah Fang, come see your Brother Bu. This is my disciple Di Yun, and this is my daughter Ah Fang. Oh, countrywoman, there is nothing to be shy of, we are of the same family.” Qi Fang hid behind Di Yun and did not make a greeting, only smiled a bit.

Di Yun said: “Brother Bu, are your sword techniques from the same class as ours? Otherwise how could you identify sister’s technique with one glance?”

Qi Zhangfa made a spitting sound and let out some phlegm, then said: “Your Shifu and his Shifu is from the same clan, of course we would be learning the same sword techniques, is there any reason to ask?”

Bu Yuan lifted the cloth next to the saddle and produced a bag. With both hands he presented it and said: “Uncle Qi, Shifu said this is a small gift, please accept it.” Qi Zhangfa expressed his thanks and told his daughter to put it away.

Qi Fang brought it inside the room, opened the bag, all she saw was a gown made of a brocade of sheep fur, a gem wrist bracelet, a felt hat, and a black jacket. Qi Fang took it out, laughed and said: “Father, you have never worn such beautiful clothing, if you wear this, how would you look like a countryman? You must have become rich, and became a government official.”

Qi Zhangfa gave a glance at it, and also couldn’t help but chuckle. After a moment, he timidly said: “Brother Wan… this… haha… this is really…”

Di Yun went to the front of the village to fetch three catties * of white wine, Qi Fang went to slaughter a chicken, and placed it in the middle amongst some Chinese cabbage and other vegetables. In a big full pot, there was also another big bowl of red pepper in the fluid. The four of them were sitting together at the dinner table.

Qi Zhangfa asked for the reason for the visit, and Bu Yuan replied: “Shifu said he hasn’t seen Uncle Qi in over ten years and misses him dearly. He had already thought of visiting Henan personally, but because Shifu is busy practicing every day the ‘Liancheng Swordplay’ he could not find any leisure time…”

Qi Zhangfa put the bowl of wine beside him, and spat out the mouthful of wine he just downed, and quickly asked: “What? Your Shifu is practicing the ‘Liancheng Swordplay?’”

Bu Yuan’s expression was complacent: “On the Fifth of last month, Shifu has already completed his training of ‘Liancheng Swordplay.’”

Qi Zhangfa felt even colder, then suddenly slammed the bowl of wine on the table—more than half the bowl of wine spilt out as a result, causing the table and chest portion of his clothes to be flooded with wine. He sat motionless for a while, and then suddenly burst into laughter. He tapped his hand on Bu Yuan’s shoulder and said: “Damn, that brat, your Shifu has always been known to exaggerate such things. Even your martial grandfather could not complete the ‘Liancheng Swordplay’; your Shifu’s lies aren’t very well-thought. Don’t deceive your uncle anymore… let us drink… And with that he finished off his half bowl of wine; with his left hand grabbed a hot red pepper and chewed on it.

Bu Yuan’s face showed no hint of laughter, he instead said: “Shifu knew that Uncle Qi wouldn’t believe him. On the Sixteenth of next month, it is Shifu’s 50th birthday, may Uncle Qi bring his disciples with him to Jingzhou for some wine. Shifu specifically told Junior to come visit, and no matter what must request Uncle to attend. Shifu said that his ‘Liancheng Swordplay’ has some spots where he has not perfected, and would like to discuss with Uncle. Shifu had always said that Uncle’s sword techniques were profound, if my martial brothers and I could receive some advice from Uncle, we would definitely show significant progress.”

Qi Zhangfa asked: “Has your Second Uncle Yan Daping already been invited?”

Bu Yuan replied: “Second Uncle Yan Daping wanders around leisurely, Shifu has already sent Second Brother, Third Brother, and Fourth Brother to search around Henan, Jiangnan, and Yungui, but we have not found him yet. Does Uncle Qi know the whereabouts of Second Uncle?”

Qi Zhangfa let out a sigh and said: “Among us three martial brothers, Second Brother has the most powerful martial arts. If he practiced the ‘Liancheng Swordplay’, I may believe that he could master it. But your Shifu? No way!” With his left hand grabbed the wine jug, filled his bowl with wine and declared loudly: “Alright! On the Sixteenth of next month, we will go to Jingzhou to celebrate your Shifu’s birthday, as well as see how well he has practiced his ‘Liangcheng Swordplay.’” He slammed the bowl of wine on the table again, and half the bowl of wine spilt out, over the table and on his shirt.

Qi Fang asked: “Father, you sold our cattle Dahuang, next year how can we farm?” asked Qi Fang.

Qi Zhangfa replied: “We will worry about next year when next year comes, why worry so much now?”

Qi Fang reasoned: “Father, isn’t it better if we stay here? What’s the point of going to Jingzhou? Even if it’s Uncle Wan’s birthday, we shouldn’t sell off Dahuang…”

Qi Zhangfa replied: “I promised Bu Yuan to go, so I must not go back on my word. Besides, I can bring you and Ah Yun to a bigger place, so you don’t stay a rustic bumpkin your whole life.”

Qi Fang retorted: “What’s wrong with being a bumpkin? I don’t want to see the outside world. I have raised Dahuang since I was small, I help him eat grass and bring him back home. Father, can’t you see Dahuang is in tears, he doesn’t want to go.”

Qi Zhangfa said: “Silly girl, that cow is a beast, what does it know? Let go of it.”

Qi Fang refused: “I won’t let go. If you sell it to someone else, they will kill him and eat him, I can’t bear it.”

Qi Zhangfa reassured her: “They won’t kill him, only have him help farm.”

Qi Fang said: “Yesterday what did you say? You said you will definitely sell Dahuang to be killed. You lied to me. Dahuang is in tears. Dahuang, Dahuang, I won’t let you go. Brother Yun! Come quickly, father wants to sell Dahuang…”

Di Yun said: “Ah Fang, your father doesn’t want to sell Dahuang either, but how can we go to Uncle Wan’s with empty hands? Besides, our clothes are dirty and ruined; we should get new clothes so people don’t think lowly of us.”

Qi Fang replied: “Didn’t Uncle Wan give you a new hat? When you wear it, it gives you an aura of profoundness.”

Qi Zhangfa said: “Hoh, the weather is so warm, how can I wear this sheep gown? Besides, your uncle claims to have completed the ‘Liancheng Swordplay’, and I don’t believe him, I definitely have to see it for myself. Good child, please let go.”

Qi Fang said: “Dahuang, if they want to kill you, then use your force to attack them, and run back to us! Or not! They will chase after you, and then you should run as far as you can, up to the mountains…”

-----------------------

Half a month later, Qi Zhangfa brought his disciple Di Yun and daughter Qi Fang to Jingzhou. The three of them wore new attire. It was their first time entering a big city, so it was a bit overwhelming and caused some anxiety, they felt a bit helpless. They were searching for “Five Cloud Palm” Wan Zhenshan’s whereabouts. They heard people say: “Old Hero Wan’s residence, is there really a need to ask? It must be whatever the biggest house is.”

Di Yun and Qi Fang headed to Wan Family’s residence, they could see high walls and red-lacquered doors, hung colourful lamps which showed the prestige of the family, many thoughts whispered themselves. Qi Fang held closely to her father. Qi Zhangfa was about to speak for entrance when out came Bu Yuan from the front door.

Overjoyed, Qi Zhangfa said: “Worthy nephew, I have come.”

Bu Yuan quickly approached and said with joy: “Uncle Qi has arrived. Brother Di, Sister Qi, how has it been? Shifu was just thinking of Uncle, always saying: ‘Why hasn’t Brother Qi arrived yet?’ Let us go inside!”

Qi Zhangfa and the other three went in together through the front gate, the sound of drummers could be heard beating a greeting tune, and the flutes were played unexpectedly, giving Di Yun a shock. In the hall could be seen a burly old man could be seen greeting various guests. Qi Zhangfa called out: “Brother, I have come!” The old man turned around, seemingly could not recognize him. A little stunned, but then a smile could be seen, he laughed and said: “Old Third, you really have aged, I could barely recognize you!”

The two brothers were about to hold hands and reminiscent old times, when suddenly a strange aroma filled the room, followed by the sound of a smashing gong, a voice was heard: “Wan Zhenshan, ten years ago you owed me money, today will you pay up?” Qi Zhangfa turned to look at the speaker, and only saw a person carrying a wooden bucket with both hands, filled with dirty toilet water, and splashed the bucket at Wan Zhenshan and himself. Qi Zhangfa saw that his daughter and disciple were standing on the side; he could dodge the splash himself, but it would definitely land on her daughter. With some quick thinking, he came up with an idea, grabbed his gown with both hands, and quickly unrobed The dirty toilet water landed all on his robe; such a precious robe now ruined, he then conveniently threw the gown at the person who splashed him.

The person parried the toilet bucket to the side; both the robe and bucket fell on the ground, causing a putrid smell in the air. He only saw that the person had a long beard and a monstrous appearance, confidently stood there, and laughed, then said: “Wan Zhenshan, our brothers come from thousands of lis away to celebrate, we are missing some gifts, but instead bring 10,000 taels of gold, wish you the best!”

Wan Zhenshan’s eight disciples saw that this guy was here to screw around, and even dirtied one of the lamps in the room. In a fit of rage, the eight of them ganged up on the one person, about to beat the person half to death.

[Demitre]

Thanks Devilz91, I think this is one of the first novel that was translated actually. Well actually not fully translated, but a detail summary of each chapter was done. Really depressing book.

If you are willing, a full translation would be great.

[Abhay]

Thanks for starting this one... Perhaps it is the only one of Jin Yong's book I don't know anything about.
May God bless you with perseverance....u r going to need it

[nisachar]

thnx for the translation.

more plz!

[Han Solo]

Thank you for the translation.

It would be nice to read the full story.

[yeongwee]

Thank you! Just so you know there are appreciative readers!

[devilz91]

Wan Zhenshan said: “Don’t move.”

The eight disciples remained still; second disciple Zhou Qi yelled: “Bastard, who do you think you are? Today is Old Wan’s birthday, yet you come and mess around. If I don’t teach you a lesson, you won’t realize the power of the Wan family in Five Cloud Palm!”

Wan Zhenshan recognized the background of the bearded man, and said: “I was wondering who it was. It is none other than Taihang Mountain’s Leader Lu. In the past few years, Leader Lu made a great fortune; his residence is filled with tens of thousands of taels of gold, of course he would carry so much around.”

When everyone heard the name of ‘Taihang Mountain Leader Lu’, many exchanged whispers. “So it is Taihang Mountain’s Lu Tong, who seems to have a misunderstanding with Elder Wan.” This Lu Tong was the most powerful person amongst evil men in the Southern Five Provinces. He had the techniques of the Six Unit Sabre and Six Unit Fist, and made a good name for himself around the Yellow River. One continued: “People with good intentions don’t come, and people who come have bad intentions! Today there may be some trouble.”

Lu Tong laughed and said: “Ten years ago, my brothers and I were at the Taiyuan Prefecture doing a trade, when someone secretly spread the word and ruined our sale. That’s not too bad, what’s worse is this caused my brother Lu Wei to get caught and die of injustice. It wasn’t until three years ago that I found out that it was the doing of this bastard Wan Zhenshan. How do you say we settle this?”

Wan Zhenshan replied: “You are correct, it is indeed I with the surname Wan who spread the secret. Trying to make a living in the Jianghu, doing an unjust trade is not unforgivable, but what’s worse is your brother Lu Wei was raping innocent woman, and even murdered four people. When I realized he was doing such horrible deeds, I could not let such injustice go unpunished.”

When everyone heard this, they all shouted: “Such unrighteous deeds, have you no shame!” Another said: “You bastard, you should be arrested by the authorities.” Another said: “You rapist, how dare you cause trouble in Jiangling?”

Lu Tong turned tail about to leave, and shouted: “Wan Zhenshan, if you really think you are heroic, you should have come out in the open about the matter, then I would have respected you as a worthy fellow. Why be sneaky and snitch on us to the authorities? And why did you steal the six thousand taels of silver that we earned? You bastard, you are cheap and shameless! If you have the guts, come and let’s have a fight to the death!”

Wan Zhenshan laughed: “Leader Lu, not seeing you for ten years, your martial arts has increased substantially. It is unfortunate that with the likes of you, the higher your martial arts, the more people you will hurt. I am of old age now, but we will compare our skills.” And with that, he stepped out.

Suddenly, amidst a group of people out came a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, who quietly approached and with a flip of his arms, he hooked both arms of Lu Tong, and shouted: “You ruined my Shifu’s new clothes, quickly pay the damages!” The speaker was Qi Zhangfa’s disciple, Di Yun.

With a flip of his arms, Lu Tong tried to break Di Yun’s lock, but didn’t know that Di Yun had him held too tightly, with no way to escape. If Lu Tong could use his arm strength, he could use his renowned Iron Arm technique to repel him, but his arm was locked tight and he could not release any strength. In a fit of rage, with his right knee he stroke Di Yun’s stomach, and yelled: “Quickly release me!” Di Yun felt great pain and his arm lock weakened. Lu Tong, with a stroke of “The Wind and Cloud Suddenly Rises” broke his lock, then continued with a fist stroke, using one of the techniques in his “Six Unit Fist”, “The Dark Dragon Visits the Ocean.”

Di Yun quickly backed off and shouted: “I won’t fight with you. My Shifu’s new robe cost three taels of silver, we sold our cattle Dahuang, sewed three pieces of clothing, and today was only the first time wearing it...”

Lu Tong angrily replied: “Silly child, what nonsense do you speak of?”

Di Yun moved forward three steps and shouted: “Quickly pay the damages!” Since he had been raised in the countryside, he had a passion and understanding for the hard work people put into making stuff; he saw that his Shifu sold his beloved cattle to make three new pieces of clothing, and today was only the first time wearing it, yet it was already ruined by this bastard. How could he do anything else but teach him a lesson? He doesn’t care what misunderstandings Lu Tong has with Wan Zhenshan, his Shifu’s robe must be repaid.

Wan Zhenshan said: “Nephew Di, I will pay for your Shifu’s robe, please step back.”

Di Yun replied: “I want him to pay right now. If he leaves and you go back on your word, who is going to pay?” As he said this he went to Lu Tong to undress his robe, but Lu Tong dodged, and with a fist hit Di Yun hard on the chest.

Wan Zhenshan said more angrily this time: “Nephew Di, step back!”

Both eyes of Di Yun were red with fury, he said: “First you are unwilling to pay, and now you’re beating me up—you are very unreasonable!”

Li Tong laughed and said: “So what if I hit you?”

DI Yun replied: “Then I will hit you too!”

Di Yun got in a fighting stance, attacking with his left palm with support from his right palm. Lu Tong unleashed the “Attacking Tiger Stance”, with his left leg idol and his right fist attacking. The two began to fight; in brief moments have already fought more than ten stances. Di Yun had been training under Qi Zhangfa since he was little, as well as sparring with his younger martial sister Qi Fang in swordplay, never resting even a day. Even though Lu Tong was infamous as a bandit and had a name for himself amongst evildoers, at this moment he could not easily beat Di Yun. Several times he tried to unleash his Iron Arm technique, only to have it dodged by Di Yun. He hit him in the shoulder twice with two fists, but Di Yun had strong muscles and bones, and was not easily wounded.

They continued battle for several stances, when Lu Tong got frustrated, suddenly changing his fist technique from “Six Unit Fist” to “Red Sacrum Connecting Fist.” The latter was actually a part of “Six Unit Fist”, but it was a variation which had a different essence altogether. Di Yun had never seen such a fist technique, and with a fright, his left leg was hit by Lu Tong twice.

Wan Zhenshan could tell that Di Yun was losing, and said: “Nephew Di back off, you can’t beat him.”

Di Yun shouted: “Even if I can’t beat him we still have to fight.” With a “peng” sound, his chest was hit by Lu Tong again. Qi Fang was watching from the sidelines, her face full of worry, at this point she could not resist anymore and said: “Martial brother, don’t fight anymore! Let Uncle Wan handle it.”

But Di Yun was relentless and continued to attack, saying: “I’m not afraid of you, I’m not afraid of you!”

Another “peng” sound was heard; his nose was hit by a fist and blood splattered everywhere. Wan Zhenshan’s eyebrows creased with worry, and said to Qi Zhangfa: “Younger Brother, your disciple won’t listen to me, why don’t you tell him to stop.”

Qi Zhangfa replied: “Let him taste defeat, in a moment I will fight this bastard myself.”

Suddenly, from the front door entered an old beggar with a dirty face, his left hand holding a broken bowl, his right hand holding a bamboo stick, and said: “Today is elder’s birthday, please be kind enough to spare a bowl of cold rice.” Everyone present was watching the battle between Lu Tong and Di Yun, so nobody paid attention to this old man. The old beggar cried: “Ohh! I’m going to starve, I’m going to starve!” Suddenly, his left foot accidentally slipped on the dirty toilet water on the ground. He was about to fall over, shouting: “Ah! I’m going to fall!” The bowl and bamboo stick he was holding in his hands both fell at the same time. Coincidentally, the broken bowl hit Lu Tong exactly in his “Zhitang Acupoint” on his back, while the bamboo stick hit Lu Tong’s “Ququan Acupoint” around the curve of his knees.

Suddenly, Lu Tong’s kneeled on his left foot, his whole body felt numb, with no chance of escape. Di Yun unleashed two fists at once, and with two “peng” sounds sent Lu Tong’s large body flying. A splashing sound was heard—Lu Tong’s body landed right amidst the pile of crap.

The sudden change of circumstances was quite unexpected, and everyone could only watch Lu Tong as he made his way back up in a complete mess. Everyone in the audience burst into laughter, then shouted: “Capture him! Don’t let this thief escape!”

Di Yun shouted: “Pay the damages for my Shifu’s robe!”

He wanted to attack again, but was grabbed by the shoulder by someone and couldn’t move. He turned to look and saw that it was his Shifu. Qi Zhangfa said: “You got lucky to win, why pursue?” Qi Fang took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off Di Yun’s face.

Di Yun looked down and saw that his new clothes were too ruined by many stains of blood, and said out of reaction: “Oh dear! My… my new clothes are also ruined.”

The old beggar was about to walk out the door, saying to himself: “Not only did I not get any food, I even lost my bowl!” Di Yun knew that his fluke victory was all thanks to the beggar’s slip, so from his bosom he produced twenty coins which his Shifu had gave him to use in the city. Di Yun rushed out the door to hand him the money; the beggar expressed his gratitude and left.

--------------

That night, Wan Zhenshan prepared a banquet and treated with great honor the many guests that were present. He was a famous person in Jingzhou, and as such he received a scroll of good fortune from the prefecture, the words glossed with gold appearing quite prestigious. Everyone was discussing the events from earlier today, where Di Yun was blessed with good fortune when the old beggar entered at an opportune moment, causing Lu Tong to lose his concentration. Everyone was impressed that Di Yun had such bravery at such a young age, even exchanging several dozen stances with an evildoer was quite an accomplishment. Everyone wished the best for Wan Zhenshan’s birthday, saying that even though it was a coincidence that the old beggar entered, had Wan Zhenshan himself stepped in to battle, he would have defeated Lu Tong in a matter of a few stances. But not having to have Wan Zhenshan step in and lower his dignity was fine as well.

Di Yun received many compliments, causing the eight disciples of Wan Zhenshan felt a bit ashamed: Lu Tong was after their Shifu, yet they could do nothing to stop him, rather have a petty disciple of their uncle to step in to fight. The eight disciples felt angry at heart, but could not express their feelings.

After Wan Zhenshan gave a toast to everyone present, his first disciple Lu Kun, second disciple Zhou Qi, third disciple Wan Gui, fourth disciple Sun Jun, fifth disciple Bu Yuan, sixth disciple Wu Kan, seventh disciple Feng Tan, and eighth disciple Shen Cheng also made a toast to the people around. All eight disciples had the character “Tu” as part of their name. Among them, third disciple Wan Gui was the only son of Wan Zhenshan; he was tall and had a great stature, looked like a gentleman born of a rich family, unlike first disciple Lu Kun and second disciple Zhou Qi, who were more normal looking.

After the eight of them had offered a toast to the famous people, scholars, and clan leaders present, they offered one to their uncle Qi Zhangfa, conveniently offering one to Di Yun as well. Wan Gui said: “Today Brother Di gave my father a lot of face, among our eight martial brothers, we must all drink with Brother Di.”

Brother Di had never been a drinker in the past, so he said: “I won’t drink, I won’t drink.”

Wan Gui continued: “Today my father requested three times for Brother Di to back off, yet Brother Di did not listen, as if pretending that my father was talking to thin air. Now we are offering you a drink, and you won’t drink, do you take the Wan family lightly?”

Di Yun stunned, replied: “No… no I don’t.”

Qi Zhangfa could sense the negative implications of Wan Gui’s statements, and said: “Yun’er, just drink it.”

Di Yun replied: “I… I… I don’t drink.”

Qi Zhangfa got frustrated and said: “Drink it!”

Di Yun had no choice but to obey, and had one drink to each of his uncle’s disciples, making eight drinks in total. His face was flushed red and heard a ringing sound by his ear; his stomach felt a bit nauseous.

-------------------

That night when Di Yun went to bed, he felt nauseous and pains excruciated his chest, shoulders, and legs—the areas where Lu Tong had hit him during the fight. Halfway through the night, amidst his dream he suddenly heard someone yelling from out the window: “Brother Di, Di Yun, Di Yun!”

Di Yun quickly awakened and asked: “Who is it?”

The man outside replied: “It is Wan Gui, I have something to say to you, can Brother Di please step outside for a moment?”

Di Yun felt a bit dizzy, got out of bed, put on his clothes and sandals, and opened the window. All he could see was eight people lined up, each one of them holding a long sword—it was the eight disciples of Wan Zhenshan. Di Yun said: “What did you call me for?”

Wan Gui replied: “We wish to test our sword skills with Brother Di.”

[loch2]

Thanks, I actually really liked the ending (at least for DY and SS)

[devilz91]

Di Yun shook his head and replied: “Shifu said that I’m not allowed to spar with Uncle Wan’s disciples.”

Wan Gui smirked: “Looks like Uncle Qi has already acknowledged our superiority.”

Di Yun angrily retorted: “What do you mean acknowledged?”

Chi! Chi! Chi! Suddenly, three sounds were heard as Wan Gui stroke Di Yun three times with his sword, the blade of the sword missing his face just barely. In shock, he moved back a few steps and tripped his leg over a stool and looked quite pathetic. Wan Zhenshan’s eight disciples laughed heavily at the scene. Di Yun became enraged, produced a long sword from underneath his pillow, jumped out the window, and saw the eight unfriendly faces of Wan Zhenshan’s disciples. He wanted to attack, but remembered that his Shifu said not to get on bad terms with them, so he could only say: “What do you want from me?”

Wan Gui faked a stroke with his sword, emitting a “weng” sound in the air, then said: “Brother Di, today you stepped out to fight out of bravery, thinking that our family in Jingzhou would have perished if not for your help, right? Do you take it that among the Wan clan, there is no one who is a match for Brother Di?”

Di Yun shook his head and said: “That person ruined my Shifu’s clothes, of course I have to make him pay up, of what concern is it to you?”

Wan Gui replied coldly: “You made a performance out of all these renowned guests today and gave yourself a lot of face, while us eight brothers were shamed to no end. Not even to mention roaming the Jianghu from now on, even within Jingzhou, how can we have any sort of respectable status anymore? What you did today, don’t you think it was going a bit too far?”

Di Yun looked stunned and said: “I… I don’t know.”

The eldest disciple, Lu Kun remarked: “Third Brother, this brat is playing us for a fool, why talk to him? Let’s fight!”

Wan Gui unleashed his long sword, aiming for Di Yun’s left shoulder. Di Yun could tell that this was a fake stroke, so he did not defend himself at all. Wan Gui withdrew his sword after realizing Di Yun outwitted him, he got even angrier and said: “Good, so you won’t fight back?”

Di Yun replied: “Shifu said that I definitely cannot fight with uncle’s disciples.”

Suddenly, Wan Gui stroke with his long sword, and made a slash on Di Yun’s right sleeve. Di Yun loved this new garment greatly, and now that it was unreasonably ruined by Wan Gui, he could not hold back anymore and shouted: “You slashed my garment, you need to pay the damages!” Wan Gui gave a cold laugh, and made another stroke with his sword, slashing his left sleeve. Di Yun quickly unsheathed his sword to prepare a counterattack. The two began to fight, the pace growing quicker and quicker as the fight prolonged. The two were using identical sword techniques, and after a dozen or so stances, Di Yun got annoyed and started to aim for Wan Gui’s vital areas.

Zhou Qi shouted: “Hey! This brat really wants to take your life? Third Brother, no need to hold back!”

Di Yun was held aback by his words, and thought: “If by accident I really wound him, nothing good could come out of that.” Accordingly, Di Yun started to lower the intensity and fatality of his strokes. Wan Gui realized that he was not as proficient with the sword as Di Yun, nor were his strokes fatal enough. Di Yun slowly backed off, then said: “I’m not really fighting you for real, what are you doing?”

Wan Gui replied: “What am I doing? I want to stab you a few times!” And with that he attacked again with his sword vertically; Di Yun dodged to the right and saw that Wan Gui’s right shoulder exposed an opening, so with his long sword he stroke vertically at Wan Gui. But upon realizing that Wan Gui’s shoulder would most certainly suffer damages, Di Yun turned his wrist and flipped the blade of his sword so that it was flat, then tapped his shoulder a few times.

Di Yun figured now that the outcome of the battle has been decided; this should be the point where Wan Gui admits defeat and backs off, as was the case when he often sparred with Qi Fang, but unexpectedly Wan Gui’s face was flushed red with anger, and actually stroke his sword vertically. Di Yun was caught off guard and was stabbed by Wan Gui on his left leg.

Lu Kun, Zhou Qi and the others applauded and said: “You little brat, fallen already? If you beg for mercy then we will let you go.”

Another said: “It turns out that Uncle Qi’s disciple from the countryside is nothing but an amateur!”

Di Yun was already enraged from being stabbed, but now upon hearing the others mock his Shifu, he became even more furious. Di Yun gritted his teeth and executed his sword furiously like a blizzard or rainstorm. Wan Gui saw that his opponent was losing his mind and started to get nervous. Since he was small he has always been treated with utmost respect; even though his swordplay was decent, he had never fought a battle as serious as this before, and as such he was a bit frightened at this point and it showed through his sword moves which began to weaken.

Bu Yuan saw that his Third Brother was going to lose, so he lifted a brick and threw it at Di Yun’s spine. Di Yun was completely focused on attacking Wan Gui, when suddenly he felt a great pain on his back—he was hit hard with a brick. He turned around and shouted: “You guys have no shame, now fighting two on one?”

Bu Yuan replied: “What? What did you say?”

Di Yun replied: “Even if all eight of you fight me at once, I cannot put my Shifu to shame.” He disregarded the sharp pain on his back and aimed his sword at Wan Gui. But by this time his sword stance was already disrupted by pain and one could see many flaws and openings in his attack, but he still had a great aura of confidence, and as such Wan Gui was hesitant to counterattack.

Bu Yuan gave a signal to his Sixth Brother Wu Kan, and said: “Third Brother’s swordplay is proficient, this brat cannot handle him. We should step in and break them up before he suffers any real damage for fear of being scolded by Uncle Qi.”

Wu Kan nodded and said: “Good idea, we brothers should pay attention and not let Third Brother harm anyone with his sword.” The two of them, left and right with sword in hand, slashed Di Yun on the back.

Di Yun’s swordplay originally was not more impressive than Wan Gui, it was only thanks to his mindless aggression and bravery was he able to take the upper hand. Bu Yuan and Wu Kan went forward to attack together, and now Di Yun, one against three, instantly faltered. With a sword stroke, his left leg was stabbed. This stab was not a light one, in fact he could no longer stand steadily, and fell over. He would not let go of his sword, but could not take the attacks of all three at once. Lu Kun made a cold “Hmph!” sound, and with a flying kick knocked sent Di Yun’s long sword flying out of his wrist and landing on the bushes. Wan Gui stroke with his long sword, aiming for Di Yun’s throat. Bu Yuan and Wu Kan both laughed heartily, and then backed off.

Wan Gui, now having won the battle, laughed in great joy: “You rustic bumpkin, do you admit defeat?”

Di Yun replied: “Admit your face! The four of you ganged up on me, how do you consider yourselves honourable?”

Wan Gui with his long sword made a faint stab on Di Yun’s throat, causing blood to come gushing out, then said: “Still so stubborn? If I use just a bit my strength, I could instantly slit your throat.”

Di Yun shouted: “Go ahead. If you have the guts then slit my throat, if you don’t then you’re a coward.”

Wan Gui became furious, stroke with his left foot and kicked Di Yun hard in the stomach, then shouted: “Bastard, let’s see if you are still stubborn!”

This kick caused Di Yun’s internal organs to feel as if they were crushed. He made a painful cry, gritted his teeth and shouted: “You stupid bastard, you son of a *****!” Wan Gui gave another hard kick, this time to Di Yun’s face. At this point, Di Yun began to feel dizzy and could no longer retort, he felt faint.

Wan Gui sneered and said: “Today we will let you go, quickly complain to your Shifu and sister, tell them that we outnumbered and bullied you! We expect you to go crying.”

Di Yun indignantly said: “Complain about what? A true gentleman who seeks revenge only does so himself and seeks the assistance of none other.”

Wan Gui wanted him to say this, and replied: “Let’s leave a marking on your face, so as to make your Shifu speak out.” With that he gave a hard kick on his right cheek and left eye that caused Di Yun to become swollen, tears started to gush out of his eye.

Bu Yuan applauded and laughed: “Haha, the gentleman is crying! The hero turns into a fool!”

Di Yun was so angry that he felt his stomach was going to explode, recalling how Bu Yuan went to his Shifu’s cottage and was treated so graciously with wine and chicken, not having the least bit wronged him, and yet at this point in time Bu Yuan was humiliating him.

Wan Gui said: “You can’t beat me, so why not complain to my father and have my father punish me to make yourself feel better. ‘Waaah! Uncle Wan, your eight disciples beat me up to a pulp and left me crying! Waah! Uncle Wan, won’t you correct this injustice?’”

Di Yun replied: “Only a sore loser like you would complain to the elders!”

Wan Gui, Lu Kun, and Bu Yuan looked at each other and laughed, happy that today they managed to expel their hatred. They retracted their swords back in their sheaths, then said: “Brave fellow, if you have the guts then we will fight again tomorrow. We will take our leave now!” The eight of them laughed their way out.

Di Yun could only watch as the eight left him, his heart felt miserable, but even worse was that he could not understand the cause, thinking to himself: “I have never wronged them, and most certainly have not wronged their Shifu, why did they beat me up so unexpectedly? Is it just the case that nobody in the city is reasonable?” With all his might he tried to summon the strength to stand up, but his head felt dizzy and he fell back down.

Suddenly, behind him a sigh was heard: “Alas, since you couldn’t beat them, you should have begged for mercy. Now you have been beaten for no good reason, isn’t that such a shame?” Di Yun turned to look at who the speaker was.

[nisachar]

thnx for the translation.

keep up the good work

[devilz91]

Di Yun angrily retorted: “I would rather be beaten to death than to submit to these cowards!” He saw a man with a hunchback and worn-out sandals slowly approaching. He remembered that this was the beggar he saw from earlier today.

The old beggar said: “Alas, when a man grows old, the rheumatism on his back only gets worse. Little child, come massage my back!”

Di Yun felt angry, gave a “Hmph” and ignored him. The old beggar continued: “I have no descendants, and now that I’m old, there is no one willing to take care of me. Oh, the agony!” Holding his bamboo stick, he slowly trod his way out.

Di Yun saw that the beggar’s back quivered greatly. He himself had just be beaten up badly, and as such felt commiserated for the beggar. He shouted: “Hey, I have a dozen or so coins, take it to buy some buns!”

The old beggar trod his way back slowly, received the coins and said: “The pain on my back is getting worse, help me knead it!”

Di Yun replied: “Okay! Let me bandage the wounds on my leg first.”

The old beggar replied: “You only think of taking care of yourself and not others, how can you call yourself honourable?”

Di Yun was provoked by this statement, and said: “Fine! I will help you knead it!” He sat on the ground and started massaging his back with his palms.

After a few hits, the old beggar said: “Very good... very good, use a bit more strength!” Di Yun added a bit more strength to his hits. The beggar said: “Unfortunately it is not strong enough.” Di Yun added even more strength, and the beggar sighed: “Alas, you are indeed a useless child; after getting beaten half to death, you no longer even have the ability to give a proper massage to an old man. Why is someone like you still living on this earth?”

Di Yun angrily replied: “If I hit any harder, I’m afraid I will break your old bones.”

The old beggar laughed: “If you were capable of breaking my back, you wouldn’t have been on the floor getting punched and kicked.”

Di Yun got very angry and increased his strength even more, the old beggar said: “Ah, that’s better, but it’s still too weak.”

Di Yun made a hard “bang” sound with his fist, but the old beggar only laughed: “Too weak... too weak... useless.”

Di Yun said: “Old man, don’t joke around with me, I really don’t want to hurt you.”

The old beggar sneered: “Do you really think you can hurt me? Give it your best shot, hit me once and see.”

Di Yun gathered strength from his right arm, and was about to hit the beggar when the moonlight reflected the doddering physique of the old man. He became soft-hearted and said: “I won’t share such petty insight with you!” And only lightly tapped his back.

Suddenly, he felt in his waist area being held back and repelled, and his whole body was sent flying like prancing clouds. He fell on the grass with a loud “peng” and felt dizzy. He took a while to recover but still felt a bit dizzy and slowly got back up. He wasn’t angry but was curious as to what happened.

“It was you... it was you who threw me?” he asked.

The old beggar replied: “Who else is here besides me?”

Di Yun replied: “How did you throw me away?”

“On my bed I look at the moon, I bow my head and think of home.”

Di Yun became curious and asked: “That was the sword technique that Shifu taught me... how do you know it?”

The old beggar replied: “Fist techniques and swordplay are all the same. Besides, your Shifu did not teach you right.”

Di Yun angrily retorted: “How did my Shifu teach me wrong? How can a beggar like you even question my Shifu’s abilities?”

The old beggar said: “If your Shifu taught you correctly, then why didn’t you win the fight earlier?”

Di Yun replied: “They were ganging on me three or four at once, of course I couldn’t take them all. But if it was one against one, do you think I would lose?”

The old beggar laughed. “Haha, in battle, who says it has to be one against one? If you want to fight one against one and your opponents don’t, what can you do? Then you would have to kowtow and beg for mercy. If one person can take on a dozen people at once, then that is a true warrior.”

Di Yun thought that what the old beggar said wasn’t irrational, and replied: “But they are my uncle’s disciples, and our sword skills are comparable. How am I supposed to take on all eight of them?”

The old beggar replied: “I will teach you a few techniques which will guarantee you victory against the eight of them, do you want to learn it?”

Di Yun was overjoyed and said: “I want to learn it!” But upon further contemplation, he thought that in this world there may not exist such profound abilities. Furthermore, the old aged beggar most certainly would not possess such abstruse martial arts, so he became hesitant. Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind and sent his body flying into the air, this time spinning two full somersaults in the air before falling heavily to the ground. His arm landed smack down on the floor and his joints nearly broke. When he got back up, he was in so much pain he couldn’t speak, but in his heart he was extremely pleased, and shouted: “Old... old uncle, I want to learn from you.”

The old beggar said: “Today I will teach you a few techniques. Tomorrow night, you will fight the eight of them again, do you dare?”

Di Yun thought to himself: “Your martial arts abilities are so high, how can I learn it in merely a day?” But when he thought about the opportunity of defeating Wan Gui, Lu Kun and the others, he could not resist and declared: “I dare! The worst that can happen is that I get beat up again, what’s the big deal?”

The old beggar extended his left hand, grabbed Di Yun by the neck and slammed it on the floor, and scolded: “Stupid brat, I’m teaching you martial arts, how can you lose to them? Do you not trust me?”

Di Yun felt pain from the fall, but he felt even more excited and quickly replied: “Right! Right! I spoke wrong, may elder please teach me now.”

The old beggar said: “First, execute the sword techniques that you have already learned, and as you are executing them, recite the names of the techniques!”

Di Yun replied: “Okay!” He saw that his leg was still bleeding, and hastily wrapped the wound. Then from the grass he grabbed his long sword, and executed the techniques that his Shifu had taught him one by one, while reciting the names of the techniques. His pace became faster as he executed and recited the techniques quicker. He was still in the middle of executing his techniques when the old beggar suddenly laughed. Di Yun retracted his sword and asked: “Did I mess up?” The old beggar did not reply, he had his hands on his stomach and laughed heartily, Di Yun got a bit angry and said: “Even if I am not performing well, there is nothing funny about that.”

The old beggar abruptly stopped laughing and said: “Qi Zhangfa is indeed Qi Zhangfa, you are impressively vicious.” He shook his head and said: “Give me your sword.” Di Yun threw the sword over to the beggar. The beggar caught the sword and faintly recited: “The lonely bird rises from the ocean, the pond does not dare to care.” He executed his moves with the swiftness of a dancer, as if upon holding the sword he suddenly transformed into a different person. He had a calm composure and his sword moves were executed elegantly.

Di Yun observed the sword techniques, then suddenly a thought came to his mind, and he said: “Elder, today when I was fighting against Lu Tong, did you purposely throw your bowl at him to help me?”

The beggar replied with annoyance: “Do you even have to ask? ‘Six Unit Fist’ Lu Tong’s martial arts is much superior to yours, do you really think you could have beat him?” He spoke all while still executing his sword moves. Di Yun felt strange as he noticed that the mnemonics the beggar recited were not much different, only the sounded different, yet the sword techniques were entirely different.

Suddenly, he switched his sword to his left hand and with his right hand he slapped Di Yun’s face. Di Yun was shocked and angrily said: “Why... why did you hit me?”

The old beggar laughed and replied: “I’m teaching you swordplay, and you aren’t even paying attention, of course you deserve to be hit.”

Di Yun thought that the old beggar was right, so he became calm and replied: “You’re right, my mistake. I was thinking that the sword mnemonics you recited were identical to my Shifu’s, yet when executed the moves were completely different, how strange.”

The old beggar asked: “Do I perform it better, or does your Shifu perform it better?”

Di Yun shook his head and said: “I don’t know.”

The old beggar returned Di Yun the long sword and said: “Let us spar.”

Di Yun replied: “My skill level is nowhere close to yours, I can’t spar with you.”

The old beggar laughed and said: “Well, looks like this silly child is not completely stupid. How about this, we will only compare techniques, and not neigong.” He held a bamboo stick on his hands as a substitute for the sword, and aimed it at Di Yun. Di Yun adjusted his sword horizontally to block, then saw that the beggar did not move his stick, and started to rush him. But as he stroke his sword towards the beggar, the beggar’s bamboo stick rose like a violent snake, and with a forward momentum hit him right on the shoulder.

Di Yun felt defeated and complimented: “Excellent, excellent.” With his sword still horizontal he now aimed it directly at the beggar. The beggar flipped his bamboo stick and matched it next to his sword. Di Yun tried to counterattack but the beggar’s bamboo stick spun several circles on the sword and repelled any strength that Di Yun put onto the sword back to him. Di Yun could not keep a firm grasp any longer and his long sword flew out of his palms. He was expressionless for a moment, then said: “Elder, your swordplay is truly remarkable.”

The old beggar used his bamboo stick to grab the long sword that fell on the floor. It was as if the stick had glue on it, as he managed to stick the sword back up. Then he said: “Your Shifu has a set of good martial arts, and he only taught you this? Hmm, that is strange.” He shook his head and continued: “Your clan’s ‘Tangshi Swordplay’, every stance is a recitation of a line of a poem from the Tang Dynasty.

Di Yun replied: “What ‘Tangshi Swordplay’? Shifu said it is called the ‘Reclining Corpse Swordplay’, the essence of it being to force the opponent to recline like a corpse.”

The old beggar laughed and replied: “It is ‘Tangshi’ not ‘Reclining Corpse’! Your Shifu told you it was ‘Reclining Corpse?’ Funny, funny! The two stances ‘The Lonely Bird Rises From the Ocean, The Pond Does not Dare to Care’ talks about a lonely and isolated bird who rises from the ocean, sees a small pond on land, and doesn’t stop to rest. These two lines were written by a Tang Dynasty chancellor Zhang Jiu; he used an analogy of himself being of high status, not a person to fight for fame and glory. He turned this into a swordplay, hence a sense of pride and elegance in the technique. The ‘does not dare to care’ part means ‘does not dare to look’. Your Shifu taught you ‘Brother Weng Shouts Up, Dare not Cross the Horizontal’; the former line became an outcry, the latter became overcautious. The original intention was to have nothing left of the sword. Your Shifu is really remarkable. ‘Iron Lock Across the River’ teaches his disciples in such a way, impressive, impressive!” As he said this he sneered.

Di Yun was startled and began to ponder; he was not very literate so he did not quite understand everything. Though the beggar may be right, Di Yun had always shown great respect towards his Shifu, so he assumed that what his Shifu said was flawless and never questioned him. Now he felt a bit bitter, suddenly turned around and said: “I’m going to sleep! I don’t want to learn anymore.”

The old beggar was taken aback and said: “Why? Did I say something wrong?”

Di Yun replied: “You may very well be right, but you said negative things about my Shifu, and as such I can no longer learn under you. My Shifu is a farmer and isn’t very literate, not understanding what you just described...”

The old beggar laughed: “Your Shifu is illiterate? Haha, that is very strange.”

Di Yun angrily replied: “A farmer who is illiterate, what is there to laugh about?”

The beggar laughed heartily, caressed him on the head and said: “Good! You are a child with a kind heart, I like people like you. I apologize to you now; from now on I will no longer disrespect your Shifu, okay?”

Di Yun turned from being angry to happy, and smiled: “As long as you don’t talk about my Shifu, I could kowtow to you.” And with that he kneeled on the floor and gave several loud kowtows. The old beggar laughed and happily accepted his kowtows, and decided to explain some of the mnemonics. What is meant by “The Wind Suddenly Blows, The Mountain Escapes Like a Cloth” is really “Facing Down Can Hear the Winds, Continuous Mountains Suppose Undulating Waves”; what is meant by “The Falling Mud Welcomes Big Sister, The Horse Blows a Little Wind” is actually “The Sunset Reflects the Banner, The Horse Cries Soughing Winds.” By Hunan dialect tones, the words “mud” and “day” were pronounced similarly. In all of the old beggar’s speech, he indeed did not mention anything negative about Qi Zhangfa, and only intended to correct mistakes in Di Yun’s swordplay.

The old beggar said: “There are too many precarious segments to your swordplay, I cannot point them out all at once. Now I will teach you three techniques so tomorrow you will fight those eight pathetic bullies again. Remember these mnemonics carefully.”

Di Yun gave his complete attention to the beggar’s demonstrations with the bamboo stick. The beggar explained: “The first technique is the “Piercing Shoulder Stance”; if the enemy is stubbornly defensive, and you can’t ever stab him, you only need to unleash this sword phase attack, and you will immediately be able to break his defense and pierce his shoulder. The second stance, “Slap-in the-face Stance” was the one I used against you earlier; the sword switches to the left hand, and the right hand slaps the guy right in the face. This stance is strange and unorthodox, so even if your opponent knows what you are planning, if he dodges to the left then you hit to the left, if he dodges to the right then hit to the right—the more he tries the dodge the harder he gets hit. The third stance is the “Releasing Sword Stance”; it was the stance I used earlier when I used my bamboo stick to knock the long sword out of your hand.”

These three stances have all been used on Di Yun during their battle, and originally each one of them had an elegant name in the form of a line from a Tang poem, but the old beggar knew that Di Yun was quite illiterate and wouldn’t understand such complicated mnemonics, it would only make things harder to remember, so he instead changed these to more convenient names.

Di Yun was not too clever; although he had an ill-temper he was highly determined, and the three stances took him over two hours before he could execute them skillfully.

The old beggar laughed: “Good! You have to promise me one thing: you must not speak to anyone that I taught you swordplay today, including your Shifu and martial sister, or else…”

Di Yun respected his Shifu like his father, and had already loved his beautiful martial sister secretly for a while. He had nothing to hide from his Shifu, and from his martial sister, even less, so Di Yun was at a loss for words.

The old beggar sighed and said: “The reason herein, I cannot tell you at this point in time, but if you reveal the events of today, my life will be in jeopardy. I will most certainly to fall prey to 'Five Cloud Palm' Wan Zhenshan’s sword."

Di Yun was astonished and said: “Elder, your martial arts are so powerful, how can you fear my martial uncle?”

The old beggar did not answer and slowly started to leave, then said: “Whether or not you have ill intentions towards me, that depends on you.”

Di Yun rushed to catch up to him, and said: “I cannot even thank elder enough, how can I want to harm your life? Let it be known that if I break this promise, I shall be punished by the Heaven and Earth.”

The old beggar let out a deep sigh and continued walking. Di Yun stood motionless for a bit, then remembered that he had not asked the old beggar his name, shouting: “Elder! Elder!” but he was already long gone.

---------------

[devilz91]

Early the next morning, Qi Zhangfa noticed that Di Yun’s eyes were blue and his nose was swollen. He became curious and asked: “Who did you fight with to get beat up like this?”

Di Yun did not like to tell lies, but found it difficult to give an adequate reply. Qi Fang laughed: “Isn’t it the fight from yesterday when you battled with the bandit Lu Tong that caused this?”

Qi Zhangfa could not remember last night’s events too clearly, and so did not pursue his question. Qi Fang pulled on Di Yun’s shirt and the two of them went out from the side door until they reached the side of a well. They saw that there was nobody else in sight, and both sat on top of the well.

Qi Fang asked: “Martial brother, who did you fight with last night?” Di Yun did not answer. Qi Fang continued: “You don’t have to hide it from me, yesterday when you fought with Lu Tong, I remember very clearly where he hit you. He definitely didn’t hit you in the eyes or nose.”

Di Yun knew that he could not hide the truth from her, and thought to himself: “As long as I don’t tell her about the elder, it should be okay.” So he told her completely about what happened last night: the eight disciples of the Wan clan came to look for him, they fought, and how he was humiliated by them greatly.

Qi Fang grew angrier the more she heard. Soon her pretty face flushed red, she furiously said: “They fought you eight on one, what honor do they have?”

Di Yun said: “It wasn’t eight of them all at once, just three or four at the same time.”

Qi Fang angrily replied: “Hmph, the three or four of them fighting you at once was already enough to win, the others have no need to step in. If the three or four of them couldn’t beat you, then it would have been five or six, or seven or eight at once.”

Di Yun nodded in agreement. “That probably would be so.”

Qi Fang stood up. “Let’s go tell my father, and have Wan Zhenshan dictate the justice.” In her moment of anger she did not even address him as “Uncle Wan” and only by his full name.

Di Yun hurriedly replied: “No, I lost a fight. If I complain to my Shifu, people will take me for a coward.”

Qi Fang felt a bit of contempt, but saw that his clothes were ripped and then felt sympathy. From her bosom she produced a sewing kit and started to mend the holes in his clothes. As her hair rubbed against Di Yun’s chin he began to feel itchy; he could smell the fragrant scent of her skin and his mind began to wander. “Martial sister!”

Qi Fang said: “Water spinach, say nothing! Don’t let people mistake you for a thief.”

The people in Jiangnan were highly superstitious, believing that people who were having their clothes mended that talk would be accused of stealing. “Water Spinach” is the nickname that Qi Fang gave to Di Yun, which mocked his straightforward and unsuspicious nature.

---------------

At night time, Wan Zhenshan in the dining room held a banquet and invited Qi Zhangfa and his two disciples, as well as his own disciples, making 12 people in total sitting together in a round table. After three rounds of wine, Wan Zhenshan saw that Di Yun’s lips were greatly swollen and could not eat well. “Nephew Di, yesterday was difficult for you. Come, eat a bit more.” He grabbed a chicken with his chopsticks and placed it on Di Yun’s plate. Wan Zhenshan’s second disciple Zhou Qi gave a snort of contempt.

Qi Fang was already angry from earlier events, but now she could not hold it back any longer and shouted: “Uncle Wan, my martial brother’s wounds were not caused by Lu Tong, it was the doing of your eight disciples.”

Wan Zhenshan and Qi Zhangfa felt astonished at once, and asked: “What?”

Under the eight disciples of the Wan clan, eighth disciple Shen Cheng was the youngest, and naturally was the cheekiest. He quickly retorted: “Brother Di defeated Lu Tong and claimed that Shifu did not have the guts to stir up trouble so was afraid to fight Lu Tong. He said that it was all thanks to him that he took care of Lu Tong so as to not embarrass Shifu. We could not take this humiliation so…”

Wan Zhenshan’s face changed colors, but then he laughed. “Yes, it was all thanks to Nephew Di that we saved ourselves face.”

Shen Cheng said: “Brother Wan said that he was offensive in his language and could not resist to spar with Brother Di, and it seems like Brother Wan had the advantage.”

Di Yun angrily said: “You… you speak nonsense… I… when did I…” he was quite influent in his language, and upon hearing Shen Cheng speak of such lies out lie, he wanted to defend in quick haste and anger, so he did not make out the words properly.

Wan Zhenshan said: “How did Gui’er hold the advantage?”

Shen Cheng replied: “Last night when Brother Wan sparred with Brother Di, we were not present to observe. Early in the morning Brother Wan told everyone, said that he used a technique… used a technique…” he turned his head towards Wan Gui and continued: “Brother Wan, what technique did you use to defeat Brother Di?”

Wan Gui replied: “The Moon in Chang’an, The Wan Family Threshes Clothes.” They completely omitted the fact that they had ganged up on him, as if it never happened. They did not mention how Wan Gui was provoking Di Yun. The ones who were present at the scene had helped beat him up, so naturally nobody spoke of such matters. Furthermore, Shen Cheng was about 15 or 16 years old, and had an innocent look, so nobody suspected him of speaking anything but the truth.

Wan Zhenshan nodded. “So that is what happened.”

Qi Zhangfa’s face turned very red and he slammed the table hard and yelled: “Yun’er, I told you specifically not to get on bad terms with anyone from the Wan clan, let alone do battle!”

When Di Yun realized that even his Shifu believed what Shen Cheng said, he began to shake violently in anger and said: “Shifu… I… I… I did not…”

Qi Zhangfa gave him a very hard slap on the face and shouted: “You did the wrong thing and you are still making excuses!”

Di Yun did not dare to parry his attack, Qi Zhangfa indeed gave a very hard slap; Di Yun’s face was already swollen, and this made it even worse. Qi Fang quickly intercepted: “Father, you haven’t even confirmed this.”

Di Yun’s ill-temper suddenly got the best of him, he became furious and suddenly rose up, picked up one of the several long swords situated behind him and unsheathed it and stepped outside the room, yelling: “Shifu, this Wan… Wan Gui said he beat me, tell him to fight me again and we’ll see.”

Qi Zhangfa grew furious and shouted: “Are you coming back?” He left his seat and went out, clasping his fists together hard. Qi Fang tried to hold her father back, yelling: “Father! Father!”

Di Yun spoke loudly: “The eight of you come fight me again—if you have the guts then come all at once, whoever doesn’t come is a turtle bastard’s son!” Under extreme fury he could not control his tongue, and uttered such foul language.

Wan Zhenshan’s eyebrows wrinkled and he said: “That being the case, why don’t you guys go and challenge your Brother Di’s swordplay?”

The eight disciples were anxiously hoping that their Shifu would say this, and gladly accepted. They each took their long swords, and spread themselves in eight directions, with Di Yun in the middle.

Di Yun shouted contemptuously: “Yesterday night I was defeated by eight bastards ganging up on me, today we have another eight bastards…”

Qi Zhangfa yelled: “Yun’er, what nonsense do you speak of? If you are going to spar then spar, why talk trash?”

When Wan Zhenshan heard the word “bastard” spew out of Di Yun’s mouth left and right, he became angry for real, since among his eight disciple was his biological son Wan Gui, hence Di Yun was indirectly insulting him. He saw his eight disciples position themselves in eight directions, planning to attack all at once. “Your Brother Di looks down on you guys, planning to fight you guys one against eight, do you guys also look down on yourselves?”

The eldest disciple Lu Kun replied: “You are right. Younger martial brothers please step back, let me first test the abilities of Brother Di.”

Fifth disciple Bu Yuan was one who was full of treachery. Last night he saw the sparring match between Di Yun and Wan Gui and realized that the former had some decent martial arts. Indeed, this was a desperate situation, and his eldest martial brother does not have a guaranteed victory. If Di Yun wins this first match, there will naturally be someone to defeat him; he had already resigned the vigor of the Wan clan. Among the eight disciples, fourth disciple Sun Jun had the most formidable swordsmanship, it is best to let Sun Jun defeat him, so he can make no excuses. Bu Yuan said: “Eldest martial brother is the model of our clan, why should he be the one to fight? Let Fourth Brother do battle instead.”

Lu Kun thought about it and understood Bu Yuan’s intention, so he happily accepted. Bu Yuan continued: “Alright, Fourth Brother, let’s see you in action.” The seven of them backed off to observe, leaving only Sun Jun and Di Yun in the middle to do battle.

Sun Jun was quite a reticent fellow, and was not much of a talker, instead he focused his time on practicing martial arts, hence his swordsmanship was the best among his other martial brothers. He saw that his younger martial brother suggested him to fight, and immediately drew his long sword and bent his body slightly in a bow shape fighting stance. The stance was called “The Wans Admire Their Lineage, Bowing with Great Attire.” It was a sword stance of great customs. Back when Qi Zhangfa taught Di Yun swordplay, he called the name of this stance as “The Rice Dumpling Turns Foul, The Officer Bows to the Monkey” the meaning was that I am a big bowl of rice, while you are a rotten rice dumpling, I appear to yield to you, to respect you, when I actually despise you deeply! I am an officer, you are a monkey, when I pay respect to you, it is an officer showing respect to a beast. When Di Yun saw that his opponent was executing this move, he became even more furious, and immediately drew his sword in a fighting stance and bent his body in a bow shape, returning the same stance used against him, “The Rice Dumpling Turns Foul, The Officer Bows to the Monkey.” The two seemed at a standstill, not showing the slightest sign of weakness.

He advanced and pointed his long sword dead on Sun Jun’s abdominal area. The disciples of the Wan clan were shocked at once. Sun Jun set his sword in a blocking position and the two swords clashed hard. Soon, the arms of both fighters became numb.

Lu Kun said: “Shifu, look at how ruthless this brat is, he wants to take Brother Sun’s life!”

Wan Zhenshan started to become a bit worried and thought to himself: “This little bumpkin is so cynical, the battle has just begun and he’s already going for the kill?”

Many continuous “zheng” clashing sounds were heard from the swords, it was clear that both Di Yun and Sun Jun were giving it their all. After about a dozen or so stances, Sun Jun’s long sword slanted and revealed an opening on his lower abdomen. Di Yun gave a loud shout and aimed his sword straight at the opening. Sun Jun defended with his long sword and managed to keep Di Yun’s sword at bay. With a loud beat from his palms Sun Jun attacked Di Yun hard on the chest. All the Wan disciples were in shock, and someone shouted: “You can’t even beat one of us, why exaggerate and try to take us all?”

Di Yun turned around, picked up his long sword, and forcefully attacked like a violent storm. Sun Jun blocked several stances and drew his long sword to counterattack, when suddenly Di Yun’s long sword started to jitter and a light stabbing sound was heard—he had already stabbed into Sun Jun’s shoulder. This was the “Piercing Shoulder Stance” that the old beggar had taught him.

The “Piercing Shoulder Stance” was indeed uncalled for, and nobody saw it coming. Upon seeing that Sun Jun’s shoulder was bleeding bright red, his entire body shaking, all of the Wan clan’s disciples were taken aback. Lu Kun and Zhou Qi both drew their swords and rushed to attack Di Yun. Di Yun slashed left and right with his long sword, and two stabbing sounds were heard—both Lu Kun and Zhou Qi’s right shoulders were pierced by his long sword, and the sword in their hands both fell to the ground.

Wan Zhenshan’s face began to sink, then shouted: “Very good!”

Wan Gui firmly held his long sword, staring at Di Yun with great contempt. Suddenly he shouted violently, rushed and gave three stabs at Di Yun, but Di Yun parried them all, switched his sword to his left hand, and his right hand gave a backhand and smacked Wan Gui hard on the face. This technique was even more sudden than the last, Wan Gui was completely startled. Di Yun gave a flying kick with his left leg and kicked Wan Gui hard on the chest. Wan Gui could not take it and instantly fell on the floor. Bu Yuan quickly went to assist Wan Gui back up, but Di Yun aimed his sword at Bu Yuan. Bu Yuan could only lift his sword up to defend. The remaining three disciples Wu Kan, Feng Tan, and Shen Cheng saw that Di Yun was very brutal, having already sent Wan Gui falling to the ground who at this moment could not draw the strength to get back up. Furious, they each drew their weapons and circled around Di Yun. At this time, the maid servants in the Wan family heard the sound of battle from the dining room and quickly went to observe.

Qi Zhangfa stared at the situation with startled eyes, his face seemed ignorant, he was unsure of what to do.

Qi Fang shouted loudly: “Father, they are all picking on martial brother! Quick, save him!”

____________________

Chapter 1 end

[devilz91]

Chapter 2
Prison

The sound of weapons clashing were heard continuously, when suddenly the glimpse of a person in white could be seen holding a long sword, falling in the middle of the men battling. The numerous maid servants were in a mess immediately, some fell on the handle the seat opposite the host, while some held onto the handle against the crossbeam. In an instant, the swords of Bu Yuan, Wu Kan, Feng Tan, and Shen Cheng were all taken away by Di Yun’s “Releasing Sword Stance.”

Wan Zhen applauded with much laughter. “Good! Good! Brother Qi, looks like you have completed the ‘Liancheng Swordplay!’ Congratulations!” There was a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Qi Zhangfa was stunned. “What ‘Liancheng Swordplay?’”

Wan Zhenshan replied: “If Nephew Di’s technique was not ‘Liancheng Swordplay’ then what was it? Kun’er, Qi’er, Gui’er, come back. Your Brother Di has learned Uncle Qi’s ‘Liancheng Swordplay’, how can you be any match for him?” He turned to Qi Zhangfa and sneered: “Martial brother, you sure faked it well, playing dumb! ‘Iron Lock Across the River’ is truly remarkable.”

Di Yun had consecutively executed the “Piercing Shoulder Stance”, “Slap-in-the-face Stance”, and the “Releasing Sword Stance” and managed to defeat all eight of Wan clan’s disciples. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he could win so easily, and actually felt quite confused. He looked at his Shifu, martial sister, and martial uncle, not sure of what to say.

Qi Zhangfa approached Di Yun, then suddenly grabbed the long sword from his hand and pointed it at Di Yun’s neck and interrogated him in an angry tone. “Those sword stances… who taught them to you?”

Di Yun was taken aback. Usually he would not dare to hide anything from his Shifu, but the old beggar stated very clearly that if Di Yun were to reveal anything about their encounter, the former’s life would be put in jeopardy. Furthermore, he made an oath to not reveal anything about it. So he could only say: “Shi… Shifu… disciple… disciple figured it out on his own.”

Qi Zhangfa shouted: “You came up with such brilliant stances on your own? You… you dare speak such nonsense to me! If you don’t reveal the truth, I will kill you right now.” He moved his wrist forward and the blade of the sword cut Di Yun’s throat slightly.

Qi Fang rushed to the scene, held tightly onto her father’s arms and exclaimed: “Father! Martial brother was with us the whole time, how could anyone teach him martial arts? Weren’t those sword stances taught by you?”

Wan Zhenshan sneered. “Brother Qi, why do you insist on playing innocent? Your daughter has already spoken of the matter quite clearly. ‘Iron Lock Across the River’’s intelligent acting, you have no need to demonstrate in front of your martial brother. Come, come! Brother will toast you three cups of wine!” As he said that he filled up two cups of wine, drank one cup himself and continued: “Big brother will drink first as respect! You can’t not show me face.”

Qi Zhangfa snorted, dropped his sword on the ground and fetched the wine cup, downed three cups in a row and got a slight headache. He was still a bit confused and remarked: “Strange! Strange!”

Wan Zhenshan said: “Brother Qi, there is something I want to discuss with you privately, please come to the study room with me.” Qi Zhangfa nodded in agreement. Wan Zhenshan put his hands on his shoulder and together they went to the study room.

Wan Zhenshan’s eight disciples looked at each other speechless, some faces turned blue while some whispered curses.

Shen Cheng said: “I’m going to the washroom! The stances that brat Di Yun pulled really scared me.”

Lu Kun’s face sunk in disgust and shouted: “Eighth Brother, have you not embarrassed yourself enough?”

Shen Cheng stuck his tongue out and left hurriedly. He went out from the dining room door, headed to the washroom but on his way stopped by the living room and began to eavesdrop. He heard the sound of his Shifu’s voice. “Brother Qi, for twenty years the mystery remained unsolved, today there is finally a solution.”

He heard Qi Zhangfa reply: “Little brother does not understand what you mean by this.”

“Why do you make me say any more? Do you remember how our Shifu died?”

“Shifu lost one of his martial arts manuals and could not recover it. He died under great depression. You already know this, why ask?”

“Correct. This martial arts manual, what is it called?”

“How would I know? Why ask me?”

“I heard Shifu say it was called ‘A Deadly Secret.’”

“What completed, not completed? I don’t understand one bit.”

“He who knows is not as he who desires, he who desires is not as what…”

“Not as he who knows not!”

“Hehe... haha, haha!”

“What is so funny?”

“You are actually well-versed in literature, yet you pretend to be ignorant. We martial brothers have been training for over a dozen years, who doesn’t know whose background? If you don’t know the three words ‘A Deadly Secret’, how can you recite the analects of Confucius or Mencius?”

“You are testing me, aren’t you?”

“Hand it over!”

“Hand what over?”

“You already know, why feign ignorance?”

“I, Qi Zhangfa, have never been afraid of you.”

Shen Cheng heard his Shifu and uncle bicker louder and louder and he started to become afraid. He quickly ran back into the living room, went to Lu Kun and whispered: “Elder Brother, Shifu and Uncle Qi are bickering loudly, I fear they may fight!”

Lu Kun stood up straight and said: “Then let’s go!” Zhou Qi, Wan Gui, Sun Jun and the others hurriedly followed.

Qi Fang pulled on Di Yun’s sleeves and said: “Let’s go too!”

Di Yun nodded and ran two steps when Qi Fang grabbed a long sword. Di Yun turned around and saw Qi Fang holding two long swords and asked: “Two swords?”

Qi Fang replied: “Father did not carry a weapon!”

The eight disciples of the Wan clan had faces full of worry, they stood outside the study room. Di Yun and Qi Fang stood farther behind them. The ten of them tried to regulate their breathing while quietly eavesdropping the bickering inside the room.

“Brother Qi, our Shifu’s death… it was you who did it.” It was the voice of Wan Zhenshan.

“Nonsense, complete nonsense! Brother Wan, you speak so clearly of it, then how did I cause Shifu’s death?” Under extreme anger, Qi Zhangfa was very loud and his voice was very hoarse.

“Shifu’s martial arts manual ‘A Deadly Secret’, were you not the one who stole it?”

“How do I know of any deadly person, or deadly ghost? Brother Wan, if you want to frame me with the surname Qi, it won’t be so easy.”

“The sword stances that your disciple executed, is it not ‘Liancheng Swordplay?’ How could his techniques be so clever and fluent?”

“My disciple has always been intelligent, he must have come up with it himself—even I don’t know it. How could it be any ‘Liancheng Swordplay?’ You told your disciple Bu Yuan to invite me over, saying that you have completed this ‘Liancheng Swordplay’, did you not? We can ask Bu Yuan to confirm this!”

Everyone outside the room looked at Bu Yuan, whose face turned deathly pale. Clearly Qi Zhangfa was speaking the truth; Di Yun and Qi Fang exchanged glances and nodded, thinking: “I heard Bu Yuan say this as well, there is no denying it.”

Wan Zhenshan laughed loudly and replied: “Of course I said this. If I did not say this, how could I get you to come over? Qi Zhangfa, I ask you now, you said you have never heard of the ‘Liancheng Swordplay’, then why did your expression change so drastically when Bu Yuan said I had completed this swordplay? How can you still deny it?”

“Aha, you with the surname Wan swindled me to come to Jingzhou?”

“Correct. Hand over the sword manual, then kowtow to Shifu’s grave to admit your misdeeds.”

“Why should I hand it over to you?”

“Hmph, I am your elder martial brother!”

The room fell quiet for a while, then Qi Zhangfa’s voice was heard: “Alright, I’ll give it to you.”

Everyone outside the room who heard him say these five words involuntarily became startled. Di Yun and Qi Fang only wished there was a hole they could crawl into to bury their shame. Lu Kun and the other Wan disciples looked at Di Yun and Qi Fang with great contempt. Qi Fang was angry too and also felt a sense of extreme humiliation, she would have never believed that her father did such a disgraceful thing.

Suddenly, a loud and enduring scream was heard from inside the room. It was Wan Zhenshan. Wan Gui shouted “Father!” and quickly kicked open the door and burst into the room. He saw that Wan Zhenshan lied down on the floor, his chest was stabbed by a very sharp and dazzling dagger, and his entire body was covered with blood. The window was wide open and Qi Zhangfa was nowhere to be seen.

[devilz91]

Wan Gui cried mournfully: “Father! Father!” He held Wan Zhenshan tightly.

Qi Fang also cried: “Father! Father!” She was trembling in fear and held Di Yun’s hand tightly.

Lu Kun shouted: “Quick, chase after the assailant!” With Zhou Qi, Sun Jun and the others quickly rushed out the window and shouted: “Capture the assailant! Capture the assailant!”

Di Yun watched as the eight disciples of the Wan clan chased after his Shifu. At this moment he was truly scared out of his mind, unsure of what to do. Qi Fang shouted again: “Father!” Her body was still trembling and could not stand still. Di Yun quickly held onto Qi Fang so she wouldn’t fall, he lowered his head and saw Wan Zhenshan’s both eyes shut closed, his expression was ferocious and disgusting and must have suffered a great amount of pain before his death.

Di Yun could look no more, and said softly: “Martial sister, shall we go?”

Qi Fang had not replied yet when a voice was heard behind them, saying: “You two are accomplices of the assailant! You cannot go!”

Di Yun and Qi Fang turned around to look and saw a long sword aimed at Qi Fang’s chest, it was Bu Yuan. Di Yun was enraged, but when he thought about it, he realized that it was his Shifu who murdered his martial uncle, what more could he say? He only lowered his head and remained silent.

Bu Yuan said coldly: “The two of you return to your respective rooms, once we catch Qi Zhangfa, you will all be sent to the officials.”

Di Yun replied: “This whole ordeal was caused by me and me alone, it does not concern my martial sister. If you want to kill someone, then kill me.”

Bu Yuan pushed Di Yun’s back hard, and said: “Go! This is not the time for you to play hero.”

Di Yun could only hear the shouts of “Capture the assailant!” from outside, his mind was boggled and really did not know what to do at that point. He could only obey and head back to his room.

Qi Fang cried: “Martial brother, what… what do we do?”

Di Yun sobbed: “I… I don’t know. I will confess to the crime along with Shifu.”

Qi Fang cried: “Father… where… where could he be?”

Di Yun sat in his room, at this point over four hours have passed since the murder of Wan Zhenshan, yet he was still sitting on his chair motionless over the events that had just occurred. He stared at the half-burnt candle on the table, confused.

At this point the ones who chased after Qi Zhangfa returned. He heard voices outside talking: “The assailant has already left the city, we couldn’t catch him!”

“Tomorrow we will head to Hunan, no matter what we must catch him to avenge our Shifu!”

“I only fear that the assailant may perish in the Jianghu, we can’t find him even if we tried.”

“Hmph, even if we have to chase him to the edge of the earth and the corner of the ocean, we still have to catch him and destroy his corpse into ten thousand pieces!”

“Tomorrow we will spread notices around the Jianghu to invite the righteous men in the wulin to uphold justice. Together we will kill this ignoble criminal!”

“Right! Let us first kill the daughter of the assailant and that brat with the surname Di to worship our Shifu’s greatness.”

“No, let’s wait until tomorrow when the county master comes to examine the corpse before we decide.”

The Wan disciples kept discussing their plans outside. Di Yun wanted to call her martial sister and escape together, but thought: “She is still a young girl, roaming in the Jianghu, who can take good care of her? Should I run away with her? No, no! This disaster was caused by me, if I did not try to play hero and fight with the Wan disciples, then Uncle Wan would not be suspicious of my Shifu completing whatever ‘Liancheng Swordplay.’ My Shifu is the most honest person, why would he have to steal those sword techniques? The three stances were taught to me by the old beggar, but now my Shifu has already committed a crime, even if I reveal the truth now, nobody would believe me. Even if they do believe me, what difference does it make now? I have committed a huge crime and it is all my fault. Tomorrow I must reveal the truth to everyone in defense of my Shifu. But… but Uncle Qi was indeed killed by my Shifu, how could this criminal record be erased? No, I can’t escape now, I will remain here and take the blame for my Shifu’s actions, I will let them kill me instead!”

As he continued pondering the situation, a faint stepping noise was heard from the rooftop. Di Yun looked up and all he saw was a dark shadow heading from the west to the east. He jumped onto the rooftop and yelled out quietly: “Shifu!” but upon closer inspection, the shadow was tall and skinny, nothing like the build of his Shifu. Following behind this shadow was yet another mysterious figure who had a blade in his hand.

He thought to himself: “Are they looking for Shifu? Maybe Shifu is nearby and hasn’t gone far yet.” He was thinking when suddenly from the east a loud feminine scream was heard. Di Yun was shocked, he held on to his sword and got up. The first thought that came to his mind was: “Are they hurting my martial sister?” Following that another yell from a girl was heard, screaming: “Help me!”

However this voice did not sound like Qi Fang’s, so he felt a bit relieved knowing that his martial sister was not in danger. He got out from the window and from inside the room heard again a girl screaming: “Help! Help!”

He quickly rushed over to the scene, and from the east side of the house saw a bright light coming out the window. He went near the window and saw inside a girl was tied up on a bed unable to move. Two people were molesting her face while another was about to undress her. Di Yun did not recognize who the girl was, but saw that she was very scared and was trying to struggle herself free from the bed, crying loudly for help.

Although he was in quite a predicament himself, upon seeing such injustice he could not just walk away. So he jumped in through the window with his sword and aimed the sword at the chest of the man on the left. The man on the right threw a chair at Di Yun, while the one on the right drew his blade and wanted to slash him. Di Yun saw that both men’s face were covered by a black cloth, so all he could see were their eyes. He shouted: “You bold scoundrels! Leave your lives here!” Three stabbing sounds were heard.

The two men did not reply and instead each drew their blade. One said: “Brother Lu, pull back!”

The other said: “That Wan Zhenshan is lucky today, we will get him next time!” Both blades were held up aiming to strike Di Yun’s head. Di Yun saw the strikes approaching and quickly dodged. One of the men kicked the table up into the air, it flipped and the candle died. Now the room was completely dark; only the sounds of breathing could be heard. The two mysterious figures jumped out through the window. Then some weapon sounds were heard and several tiles were thrown. In the darkness Di Yun could not see clearly, and he knew that his qinggong was not up to par hence he did not pursue.

He thought to himself: “One of them had the surname Lu, most likely an accomplice of Lu Tong and probably came to seek vengeance. They don’t realize that Uncle Wan is already dead.”

Suddenly, the girl on the bed shouted: “Ow! That hurts! I was stabbed in the chest by a small blade! Quickly pull it out for me.”

Di Yun replied in great shock: “The thief stabbed you?”

The woman groaned: “Stabbed! Stabbed!”

Di Yun replied: “Let me light a candle so I can see clearly.”

The woman replied: “Come over here, quickly!”

Di Yun heard her voice was quite frantic and panicky so he walked closer and asked: “What is it?”

Suddenly, the woman opened her arms and hugged him around the waist, then shouted loudly: “Help! Help!”

Di Yun was in even more shock now: he clearly saw that she was confined by ropes, now how could she release herself? He quickly stuck out his hand and wanted to release her grip, but the woman had a very strong grip on him, and he could not instantly pull himself away from her.

Suddenly a bright light was seen, from the window two torches were seen which lit up the paintings inside the room. Several people spoke at once: “What’s going on? What’s going on?”

The girl shouted: “A rapist! A rapist! He wants to rob me and rape me! Help!”

Di Yun urgently shouted: “You... you... how could you do this?” He stuck his hand out to push her body away. The girl originally had hugged him hard around the waist, but now used her full force to repel him, shouting: “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me!”

Di Yun instantly retreated, when suddenly the back of his neck felt a cold sensation, a long sword was already aimed at him. He wanted to explain himself, but with a flash of light from the blade he suddenly felt excruciating pain in his right palm and screamed loudly; his own long sword fell on the ground. He looked down and was so scared at what he saw that he almost fainted—the five fingers of his right hand were cleanly sliced off, fresh blood splattered everywhere like spring water. In utter confusion he squinted and saw faintly that it was Wu Kan who held the bloody sword, standing on the side.

All he could utter was: “You!” And kicked Wu Kan hard with his right leg. Suddenly he was hit hard by a fist on his back, and staggered in great pain; now his whole body fell on the girl’s body. The girl shouted again: “Help! Rapist!”

He heard Lu Kun’s voice: “Capture him!”

Di Yun had actually never seen any other youngster not from the countryside, and only at this moment did he realize that he fell into a devious trap by a bunch of schemers. He quickly got up, turned his body over and wanted to attack Lu Kun, when suddenly saw a pale face looking at him—it was Qi Fang.

Di Yun was speechless, and from Qi Fang’s face he could make out that she was in great sadness, disbelief, and anger. He shouted: “Martial sister!”

Suddenly, Qi Fang’s face turned bright red, she said: “Why... why did you do this?”

Di Yun felt his entire body overwhelmed with feelings of injustice, how could he explain himself now?

Qi Fang began to cry and said: “I... I should just die.” She saw that Di Yun’s right hand had all five fingers chopped off, she felt great sympathy and pain for him. She grit her teeth and tore off a piece of clothing from her garment and bandaged his wound. At this point her face turned snow white again. Di Yun was in so much pain that several times he almost passed out, but forced himself to be conscious, and bit so hard that his lips started to bleed; he could not utter a single word.

Lu Kun said: “Little martial mother, this bastard dared to show you such disrespect, let us kill him to help you relieve your anger.”

It turns out that this woman was one of Wan Zhenshan’s concubines. With both her hands she covered her face, crying, and said: “He... he... he said many dubious and inappropriate things to me. He said that your Shifu has already passed away, told me to follow him, said that Lady Qi’s father was the murderer, and that will implicate him in the crime as well. He... he said that he has already collected a lot of gold and jewellery and became rich, asked me to follow him to start a new life of richness and without worry...”

Di Yun’s mind was overwhelmed with a million thoughts at once, he mumbled: “This is all lies... lies...”

Zhou Qi exclaimed: “Go! Search that bastard’s room!”

Everyone carried Di Yun over to his room, with Qi Fang following closely behind. Wan Gui said: “Everyone do not be so disrespectful to Brother Di, the situation has not been cleared up yet, do not falsely accuse him of injustice!”

Zhou Qi angrily replied: “What is there that still isn’t clear? This brat is a villain!”

Wan Gui replied: “I think that he is not such a person.”

Zhou Qi said: “Did you not hear just now? Did you not witness what just happened?”

Wan Gui retorted: “I think he only had a few too many cups of wine, and is under drug influence.”

After all these events, Qi Fang had long lost any opinion of the situation. Hearing that Wan Gui was helping to prove Di Yun’s innocence, she felt grateful deep inside, and lowly said to herself: “Brother Wan, my martial brother... is indeed not that kind of person.”

Wan Gui said: “Correct, I say he is only drunk—he certainly would not commit thievery.”

During the conversation, the others have already carried Di Yun into his room. Shen Cheng began inspecting his room very carefully, then lowered himself and reached for a heavy bundle under the bed. The bundle rattled like gold clashing against each other. Di Yun felt a cold shiver and was confused, as he saw Shen Cheng open the bundle, in it was full of gold and silver plates, flagons and wine cups. It was most certainly items from the Wan Family’s wine banquet.

[Han Solo]

Thank you for translation.

Han Solo

[Coolek]

Great tempo of translation! Sometimes I just can't believe that translators here are not professional!

[nisachar]

Thanks for the translation.

[devilz91]

Thanks for the positive feedback.