Xia Ke Xing translation

[PJ]

Hi Ian. Excellent translation so far. I am reading XKX in Chinese and loving it. The martial arts descriptions would be the most difficult for me to translate. I am on chp4.

[Ian Liew]

Sorry for the long delay. I spent a few weeks busy distracted, and when I finally found the urge to come back I lost my book. I carried it around with me for a while and couldn't remember where I left it. Searched house and office in vain, but here I am, having bought another copy of book 1, and hopefully I'll make it to the end of Chapter 1 soon enough!

Chapter 1
Tha Black Steel Symbol (cont'd)

As the four men glanced from the tree back to Shi Qing, they noticed that his hands were now holding an ink-black longsword, and they heard him say "Ink sword versus Golden sabre, just a gentlemanly duel. Whoever of us gains a slight advantage in skill shall obtain the bundle - how does that sound?"

An Fengri saw him pin the bundle to the tree, and then offer to settle the ownership of the bundle via a duel, all without any trickery. In his heart he felt a deep respect for Shi Qing and said "Master Shi, after you." He had already heard that the Master of the Xuan Su Mansion, Shi Qing and his wife Min Rou, had exquisite skill with the sword, and having seen him subdue Yuan Deng and Feng Zhenwu, he was left with no doubt. He didn't dare to be overconfident, and swished his sabre three times, ready for action.

Shi Qing, sword tip pointing at the ground, not moving at all, said "Do attack."

An Fengri advanced, his skills still polished and showing no signs of rustiness. Immediately he attacked with his 72 movements of 'Bi Gua Sabre', the most powerful strokes at his disposal. Each stroke concealed a motive, each motive a separate stroke, and had many variations. Shi Qing raised his ink sword, and initially countered each stroke as he saw it coming, defending rigourously. After 30 strokes or so, a sudden whistle of his sword was heard and the offense began - each sword thrust faster than the last. After another 30 strokes or so, An Fengri could no longer see clearly the strokes Shi Qing was using, and with fear in his heart could only concentrate on defending his vital points.

Both men sparred for over 70 strokes, the sword and sabre not quite connecting with each other, but suddenly a 'ding' rang out and the tip of the ink sword was resting on the back of the sabre, and started to slice downwards along the ridge. This stroke 'Going with the flow' was an orthodox stroke used by the sword to defeat the sabre, and if his skill was good enough, An Fengri could have turned the sabre around to face outwards and the sword would have naturally just glanced away harmlessly. However, Shi Qing's sword was moving amazingly quick, and before An Fengri knew it the sword had already reached his index finger. An Fengri gasped in his heart "My fingers are finished!!" and thought of retreating, but he knew he couldn't do it in time. In the blink of an eye, Shi Qing's longsword suddenly stopped. Not only did it no longer advance, it moved back a few inches. An Fengri knew that Shi Qing was showing mercy, and that there was no point in fighting further. He then let go of his sabre.

However, Shi Qing's sword flicked and intercepted the falling sabre, preventing it from falling and said "You and I had a good fight, and failing to get any advantage it seems that we have to call it a draw." and with a gentle push the sabre was raised.

An Fengri felt very grateful. He grabbed hold of his sabre handle, and knew that after defeat Shi Qing was making an effort to salvage his dignity. He sheathed his sabre and respectfully bowed, using the 'Bi Gua Sabre' signature sabre sheathing movement 'South seas pray to the Buddha'.

After using this movement, he felt even more shocked, and his face changed colour. As each movement was used, he realised he had used the entire 72 movements of 'Bi Gua Sabre' but his opponent had faced this, his main skill, without much difficulty. It was on the 71st movement that Shi Qing had managed to pin his sabre down, and if he had continued with his offense, An Fengri didn't know if he had it in him to last another 8 or 10 rounds.

An Fengri was just about say a few words of gratitude, when Shi Qing sheathed his sword and clasped his hands together, saying "As Camp Leader An and I are now friends, we no longer need to continue with our duel. If you ever happen to pass by our mansion, please do drop by and let us entertain you for a few days." An Fengri blushed and said "I will most definitely pay you a visit someday." He then moved towards the tree, and retrieved Yuan Deng's sword. He picked up the bundle, and placing the sword and his sabre on the ground, he held the bundle with two hands and walked up to Shi Qing, saying "Master Shi, please accept this." Although the item was gained and then lost, Shi Qing had salvaged his pride and spared his fingers, and as such he totally acknowledged the favour.

Unexpectedly, Shi Qing clasped his hands together, and said "May we meet again!" before turning around to leave.

An Fengri called after him. "Master Shi, please wait. Master did everything to save my face, how could I not know. I had most definitely lost to you. Please take this item, otherwise An Fengri would be ridiculed as a rude and insolent person." Shi Qing smiled and replied "Camp Leader An, today's duel has yet to produce a winner or loser. Camp Leader An's Green Dragon Sabre, Door-Breaking Sabre and other top-class sabre strokes had not even been used yet, how could you admit defeat? In any case, that bundle does not contain what I'm looking for, and I'm afraid young brother Zhou had fallen for somebody's trickery."

An Fengri was startled "... does not contain what you're looking for?" and opened the bundle hastily. He opened one layer after another, and after the fifth layer he found three bronze coins. He looked at the coins all over, back to front and that was all they were.. three bronze coins. He was shocked and angry, and turned to Zhou Mu. "Brother Zhou.... what... what kind of joke is this?" Zhou Mu stammered "I... I don't know. This bundle was really all we found on Wu Daotong's body."

An Fengri cooled down, and realised that Wu Daotong had either stashed the item in a very safe place, or had given it to another person. This entire operation had not only been a complete waste of time, but had also ridiculed the good name of the Golden Sabre Camp. He threw the bundle onto the ground, and looking at Shi Qing, said "How embarrassing, how did Master Shi know?"

As Shi Qing held onto the bundle just now, he had felt the contents and found three small round items, and although he didn't know they were bronze coins, he already knew that they were not the item he was looking for. He smiled and said "I was just guessing. It seems both of us were tricked and I apologise for the trouble.". He clasped his hands, and turned and showed his respect to Feng Zhenwu, Yuan Deng and Zhou Mu, and left the forest.

[eeyore]

Hi Ian,

long time no see you!!!! Have you been busy?

sorry to hear you lost your book.

welcome back!

[Ian Liew]

Chapter 1
Tha Black Steel Symbol (cont'd)

Shi Qing walked back to the camp, and said to Min Rou "Martial Sister, let's go." Both of them got on their horses and headed back the way they came.

Judging by the look on her husband's face, Min Rou, without asking, already knew that his little venture had not been successful. She felt a sudden pain in her heart, and her tears started falling drop by drop onto her clothes. Shi Qing said "The Golden Sabre Camp was also fooled. Let's head back to the location of Wu Daotong's corpse and look around. Perhaps our friends in the Golden Sabre Camp had missed something." Min Rou knew that it was hopeless, but didn't want to argue, so gently agreed.

The black and white horses were exceptionally fast, and by noon they were back in Hou Jian Ji.

The townsfolk had yet to recover from the fright and as such none of the doors were open. The entire incident was already reported to the officials. The prefect of the area was marshalling his troops, but had not arrived, obviously taking the stand "the later the safer".

Shi Qing and Min Rou dismounted and headed towards Wu Daotong's corpse.They noticed that apart from a 12 to 13-year old child sitting at the wall corner, there was nobody else to be seen. Shi Qing then searched Wu Daotong's corpse carefully, even to the extent of searching his hair, and removing his shoes. Min Rou went to the ruins of the shophouse to have a look.

Both husband and wife sighed at the same time. Min Rou said "Martial brother, it looks like we're not going to be able to take revenge. These few days took a lot out of you. Let's head to the city to relax a while, read some classics and listen to some music." Shi Qing knew that his wife always liked peace and quiet, and did not enjoy music. This proposal to head to the city was entirely for his sake, and so he replied "Sure. Since we're here in Henan, it would be worth heading to the city for a while. I heard that the silversmith there was a master - we could go there to get some jewelry." Min Rou was known in the martial arts world for her beauty, and had always liked to dress herself up. As she was now getting close to being middle-aged, cosmetics and jewelry became all the more important. She smiled and said "Ever since little Jian died 13 years ago, you've given me so much jewelry that I could open a shop of my own."

The moment she said "Ever since little Jian died.." her tears started flowing again. Glancing around, she noticed that little boy sitting in the corner. "Where is your mother? Why are you a beggar?" The little beggar boy replied "My... my mother is missing." Min Rou sighed and took a piece of silver from her belt. She placed it at his feet and said "Go and buy some cakes to eat.". She stood up to leave, then turned around to look at him again. "Little boy, what is your name?"

The little boy replied "My... my name is Mongrel."

Min Rou was startled, and thought "Why would he have a name like this?". Shi Qing shook his head and said "It's a mad boy.". Min Rou replied "Yes.. how sad and pitiful." Both of them then got on their horses and turned towards the city.

The boy had fainted after seeing Wu Daotong's corpse, and had only woken up at dawn. This time the fright was too much, and he could only stare at the bloody corpse of Wu Daotong. He didn't even dare to stand up and run, and groggily woke up, slept, and woke again. When Shi Qing arrived, he was already wide awake, and was just about to leave. When he saw Shi Qing searching the corpse, he got another fright and couldn't move again. It was totally unexpected when that beautiful lady gave him a piece of silver, and he thought to himself "Cake? I have one here."

He raised his hand, and held tightly in it was the fried cake which he had already taken a bite of. As the feeling of fright slowly passed, the feeling of hunger became unbearable. He opened his mouth wide and bit down hard. He heard a sound, and his teeth started to hurt badly, as if he had bitten a piece of steel. The little beggar pulled at the cake, and there was something left in his mouth. He spat it out into his left hand and saw that it was a piece of black steel.

[Alvin]

Ian, thanks for translation.

[TaiHan]

thanks for the translation, most people said this novel was outsider of Jin Yong's world. Now I can see if this is true or not.
I don't like people who judge a book through rumors and opinions. So I am really glad that you are translating this and thanks again

[Ian Liew]

Chapter 1 (I swear I'll finish the whole chapter someday... grrrr)
The Black Steel Symbol (cont'd)

The boy looked at the piece of steel, and without even thinking as to why his cake would have a steel symbol within, just gulped down the rest of the cake after cheking that there was nothing else inside. He then scanned the area, looking at Wu Daotong's corpse, and the dozen or so fried cakes littered around the area, thinking "I wonder if food touched by ghosts can still be eaten..."

While he was still pondering, a voice suddenly rang out above him "Surrounded from four faces!!!" The beggar boy was startled, and looked up. Standing on the roof were three men all clothed in white, and as he heard a rustling sound behind him, he turned around to see another four figures all clothed in white coming in from the left and right.

In the distance there was the sound of a horse approaching, and a voice shouted "Are you friends from the Snowy Mountain sect? Having arrived in Henan, please forgive me, An, for not entertaining you." A yellow horse rode up to the boy, bearing a short chubby man who dismounted. The horse then retreated, circled around a few times and finally came to a halt a short distance away.

The three men on the rooftop then jumped down, each of them clutching tightly onto their scabbards. One of them, a man of forty-plus years, said "Is it Camp Leader An from the Golden Sabre Camp? Greetings, greetings..." All the time while speaking, his eyes were signalling to the other white-clothed figures behind An Fengri.

When An Fengri had lost to Shi Qing, he had already agreed to give up. However, he thought "Why is Shi Qing heading back to Hou Jian Ji? Oh, Fourth brother Zhou fell for a trick, and didn't get the item. Shi Qing has returned to Hou Jian Ji to search for the item. If he finds it, then of course I, having already lost to him, will not interfere and will just watch. However, if by some chance he still fails, then surely I can afford to search one more time and try my luck. This item was hidden by Wu Daotong - and if I can't find it after searching ten times, searching an eleventh time won't hurt." He then got on his horse and headed to the village as well.

His horse was nowhere near as fast as the black and white stallions ridden by Shi Qing and Min Rou, and of course he didn't want to follow them too closely. It was only after Shi Qing and Min Rou had finished searching the corpse and the ruins of the shop, and headed towards the city that he had arrived at Hou Jian Ji.

When he arrived, he noticed three men in white standing on the rooftop, swords slung over their backs - they had to be Snowy Mountain Sect disciples. Three of them looked very focused, as if preparing for battle, and An Fengri thought that they were about to ambush Shi Qing and his wife. As he bore goodwill towards Shi Qing, he yelled, and hoped to alert Shi Qing and Min Rou to the situation. As he neared, he couldn't see Shi Qing, but the seven disciples of the Snowy Mountain Sect were surrounding a small beggar boy.

An Fengri was puzzled. The beggar boy was young, and his face scruffy, and didn't look like he knew martial arts. But as he saw the white-clothed warriors staring closely at the boy, he took a second look.

This time, he got a shock. He saw that the boy's left hand was clutching a symbol made of dark metal, and looked to be the legendary 'Black Steel Symbol". He then noticed the four white-clothed warriors moving, as if preparing to take the item from the boy. Without much time to think, he unsheathed his sabre from his back, and used his "Eight Direction Concealed Sabre" stroke, turned around and looked around at the boy. His sabre slashed left, then right, front then back. In a flash he had slashed three times in eight directions, twenty-four slashes in all, each slash less than half a foot from the boy, surrounding the boy with sabre strokes.

The boy felt the force generated by the sabre, his whole body shook, he shouted "Waaah" and burst into tears.

At this time, the seven warriors in white each drew their swords, forming a bright net, and ran in a circle around An Fengri and the boy. A bright white circle, with a small golden circle within. Within the smaller golden circle was a small beggar boy's crying, with tears and runny nose.

Suddenly, there was the sound of horses, and a black horse, followed by a white horse, arrived from the west - Shi Qing and Min Rou had turned back from their journey to the city.

As Shi Qing and Min Rou were on the way to the city, they noticed traces of the Snowy Mountain Sect disciples, and after discussing, decided to turn back. As he saw the eight people before him ready to clash, he yelled out "Friends of the Snowy Mountain Sect, Camp Leader An, we are all friends. Let's discuss things cordially, please don't hurt the peace."

The seven white warriors stopped their blades in unison, but kept the swords pointing at An Fengri.

Shi Qing and Min Rou drew closer, and saw the boy holding the steel symbol in his hand. Both sighed in unison, but weren't sure if the item was the item they were looking for, and both of their hearts were beating excitedly. Shi Qing leapt down and approached the boy. "Young lad, what is that item in your hand? May I have a look?" Shi Qing was very calm and collected, and these two sentences were spoken gently. He had already decided that once they boy sticks his hands out he would snatch the item from him. He was sure An Fengri would not interfere, and given his position the Snowy Mountain Sect warriors would not be able to stop him in time.

The white-robed warrior said "Master Shi, we saw him first."

Min Rou dismounted and approached. She said "Brother Geng, please ask the lad as to whether I gave him that piece of silver at his feet?" This sentence was clear, in that as she had given the lad the piece of silver, she had seen the boy well before the Snowy Mountain Sect had.

The warrior's surname was Geng, his name Wanzhong, and was one of the better fighters in the current second generation of the Snow Mountain Sect. He said "Mrs Shi, even if you had seen the lad first, we were the first to see this "Black Steel Symbol"."

The moment they heard the words "Black Steel Symbol", Shi Qing, Min Rou, An Fengri all thought the same thing - "So it is the Black Steel Symbol." The other six members of the Snowy Mountain Sect also showed the similar reaction on their faces. In truth none of the seven actually had a good careful look at the item in the beggar boy's hands, but judging from the reaction of the Shi couple and the Golden Sabre Camp Leader, and how interested they were in the item, it was assumed that this must be the item. On the other hand, the three people Shi, Min and An were thinking the same thing - Geng Wanzhong of the Snowy Mountain Sect was a very respectable character, and as he had shown interest in the item it couldn't be wrong.

Ten people all had the same intention, and all together they stuck out their palms "Little chap, give it to me."

All ten of them were thinking the same thing. None of them dared to use force, as they knew that the first person to use force would be attacked from the sides by the others, and they could all only hope for the boy to give it to them.

This poor little boy had no idea that the thing they all wanted was that metal piece which had hurt his teeth, and by this time had already stopped crying. Utterly confused, however, his eyes started to fill with tears, and look about ready to start crying again.

Suddenly, a low voice echoed around saying "Give it to me instead!"

A shadow slipped through the circle, reached out its hand, and grabbed the steel symbol from the hands of the beggar boy.



*phew*

By the way, what is everyone's recommendation for XueShanPai. Snow Mountain or Snowy Mountain? "Snow" sounds cooler, but then again XueShanFeiHu is "Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain".


Thanks for reading.


Ian

[kidd]

Snow Mountain Sect sounds cooler. Use that.

[Ian Liew]

Chapter 1
That Black Steel Symbol (cont'd)

Shouts of "Drop it!", "What?!", "How dare you!" and "Damn!" resounded. Nine swords and one golden sabre moved simultaneously towards that one single figure. An Fengri was the closest to the little boy and raised his sabre, utilising the "White worm facing the sun" stroke and slicing towards the figure's head. At the same time the seven Snow Mountain disciples moved in unison, and seven swords thrust at seven different points, closing in from all angles, intending to prevent the figure from defending any single point. Shi Qing and Min Rou, for their part, could not tell clearly as to who the figure was, and as such did not wish to use any stroke which might kill. Both of them moved their swords in a half-circle, cutting off the figure's retreat.

After a few clashing sounds, the figure suddenly out of nowhere managed to grab An Fengri's sabre and the seven Snow Mountain sword within his hands. Shi Qing and Min Rou suddenly felt a numbness in their wrists, and their swords went flying out of their hands towards the back. Shi Qing's face was a white as a sheet, while Min Rou's face flushed red. When the Xuan Su twin swords combine forces, few people could resist them and not face defeat, but to have their swords thrown from their hands with a simple tap on their blades was something that neither of them had ever experienced before.

As they stared at the man, he stood upright with one golden sabre and seven swords held by his side. He wore a green robe, had short hair, and looked about fifty years of age. He had clean features with a slightly greenish complexion about his face and his eyes radiated an inexplicable joy. Shi Qing thought of somebody and said "Would elder be the master of this Black Steel Symbol?"

The man laughed. "The Black and White Swords of the Xuan Su Mansion have been touted among the martial arts world for their swordsmanship... that fame is not hollow indeed. I focused one tenths of my attention on handling these eight friends over here, and had to expend nine tenths of my attention on you before I could force you two to unhand your weapons. Ai... my "divine flicking finger" (somebody please come up with a better translation for this one ) kungfu.... I certainly have a "flicking finger", but how can I claim to be "divine"? Looks like I'll need to practice hard for another decade or so.."

As Shi Qing heard this, he no longer had any doubt. He clasped his hands together and said "We husband and wife have travelled to Henan, and had orginally intended to visit elder in the Skyscraping Cliffs. Although now our plan has come to nothing, at least we managed to meet elder, and hence our trip has not been totally in vain. Our little inadequate swordsmanship would probably not even be worth a laugh in elder's eyes. Today elder has recovered the Black Steel Symbol by yourself - congratulations!"

The Snow Mountain disciples listened to Shi Qing's words, and started to think to themselves "This green-robed man is the Master of the Black Steel Symbol Xie Yanke? He managed to take our weapons with just one stroke - if it wasn't him who else could it be?". The seven of them stood there looking at each other, not daring to say a word.

Although An Fengri's martial arts were not exceptionally good, his experience was way above that of the seven Snow Mountain disciples. He said "Apologies for the offence. I hope Master Xie will forgive us for our ignorance."

The green-robed man was indeed Xie Yanke of the Skyscraping Cliffs. He laughed "According to my normal rules, you people attacked me with weapons, and hence I would most definitely return the favour. You used a Golden Sabre to chop at my left shoulder - of course it would only be fair if I used this same sabre to chop at your left shoulder." As he said this he twirled the Black Steel Symbol within his left hand, and smiled. "However, I'm in a particularly good mood today, so let's just treat this chop as done. You thrust at my throat, you went for my "Ring Leaping" nerve point on my thigh, you aimed at my left waist, you sliced at my calves, ..." As he spoke, his right hand pointed at each individual Snow Mountain disciple.

The seven of them listened to his narrative, and it was completely accurate. In that flash of a second, he had seen each individual stroke, and memorised all of it in detail. They then heard him say "All of these will go into an account, and some day when I'm in a bad mood I'll come back and collect!"

[PJ]

Ian - this Tanzhi Shentong of Xie Yanke, is it the same diving flicking finger of Huang Yaoshi?

[Ian Liew]

I'm not sure if it's the same wugong or not, but it is written the same way as 'Tanzhi Shentong'.


So it IS 'Divine Flicking Finger'.. =)


Ian

[superboy]

Whoa, how he get his hands on this art?

[JigSta]

Originally posted by superboy
Whoa, how he get his hands on this art?

Ebay...

[superboy]

Who knows, the name might be the same, but it might not be the one of HYS's. The power of his finger seems weaker though.

[philip]

no...itz just the same idea/ type of technique...not huang yao shi's "tan zhi shen tong"

[superboy]

Either it is, or Jin Yong is purposely trying to confuse us.

[junzi]

Originally posted by Ian Liew

Snow Mountain Sect
Wang Wan Ren? It's a Ren with a Ren-zhi pang on the left.
Ke Wan ___
Geng Wan Zhong/Chong/Zong?
Hua Wan Zi

It's Ke Wanjun ...... 'jun' as in the chengyu 'qian jun yi fa'.

[Ian Liew]

Chapter 1
The Black Steel Symbol (cont'd)

A short member of the Snow Mountain sect then shouted out "We're not good enough, and we have lost. What's the point of all this airy talk? What is there to collect? Just kill us now and get it over with - we wouldn't bother remembering such debts in our hearts." This man was Wang Wanren, and he was unarmed. By issuing such words, he was already prepared to surrender his life to his opponent. His martial brothers shouted together to try and stop him, but he had already said all of it in one breath.

Xie Yanke nodded his head and said "Okay..", raised Wang Wanren's longsword and thrust forward. Wang Wanren immediately retreated, trying to dodge, but the sword came too fast and Wang Wanren's body was caught in mid-air, the sword heading straight for his throat. Xie Yanke flicked his wrist, and immediately withdrew the sword.

Wang Wanren's legs touched the ground, and felt a cool breeze around his throat. Looking down, he gasped - there was a hole in his clothes, the size of a teacup, at his throat - Using just a flick of his wrist, Xie Yanke had cut a round circle in his clothes. All three layers of clothing were neatly sliced, exposing the flesh beneath. A slight push from Xie Yanke, and Wang would have been dead.

Wang Wanren's face turned as dark as earth, and was in complete shock. An Fengri watched with utter admiration, and could not stop himself from saying "Great swordplay!"

With regard to the actual placement of the sword strokes, as well as the delicate nature of the act, Shi Qing and Min Rou could also have performed the stroke Xie had just done, but to achieve such speed, such that the opponent knew exactly where you were aiming for but yet not be able to do anything about it.... Shi Qing and Min Rou were nowhere near that class. Both of them exchanged a glance, thinking "This man's martial arts are exquisite, completely beyond our imagination."

Xie Yanke laughed, and turned to walk away.

A young lady from the Snow Mountain Sect then called out "Mr Xie, please wait!". Xie Yanke turned around and asked "What is it?" The girl replied "Mr Xie showed mercy, and did not hurt our elder brother Wang. We are grateful for the favour. May I ask, this steel piece you're taking away - is it the Black Steel Symbol?" Xie Yanke was irritated, and replied "What if it is, and what if it isn't?" She replied "If it isn't the Black Steel Symbol, then we will all have to continue our search. However, if it is, then you're not exactly doing the right thing."

Xie Yanke's face flushed green for an instant, and then receded again. Geng Wanzhong shouted "Martial sister Hua, don't say too much!" Everybody knew that Xie Yanke was a cruel man, and that he was neither good or bad, but did everything at his own fancy. Countless members of the forces of light and darkness had fallen before him, and today, it was an out-of-this-world mercy that he had faced ten people in battle and not hurt any of them. However, Hua Wanzi was a very straight person, and not knowing the gravity of the situation, chose to challenge him. The Snow Mountain disciples and the Shi couple both felt a cold sweat as they feared for her safety.

Xie Yanke raised the steel piece in the air and announced "The Black Steel Symbol, any favour will be answered!" He then lowered it, and mumbled "Xie Yanke of the Skyscraping Cliffs..." then said "Black steel is very rare in the world, and neither sword nor sabre can penetrate it." He then raised a longsword, and brought the piece of steel against it. With a clang the sword had snapped into two, the tip flying away while the steel piece remained unscathed. He then raised it again and shouted "Who dares say it isn't mine?"

Hua Wanzi then said "This humble girl heard that some friends in the martial arts world say that Mr Xie had three Black Steel Symbols, each one handed to an old friend who Mr Xie owed a favour to. It was said that as long as anyone had the symbol, and handed it personally to Mr Xie's hands, that person would be able to make a request and no matter how hard it is, Mr Xie will undertake to accomplish it. Is that true?" Xie Yanke replied "Of course. Everybody in the martial arts world knows about this!" and a measure of pride was detected in his tone. Hua Wanzi then added "I also heard that two of the Black Steel Symbols have already been returned to Mr Xie's hands, and since then the martial arts world had experienced two great earth-shaking events - is this also true?"

As Xie Yanke heard her say ".. martial arts world had experienced two great earth-shaking events.." he felt even more proud, and replied "Yes. The friend I gave this symbol to was very good at martial arts, and there wasn't anything which he couldn't accomplish, and as such he never needed it. He also didn't have any children, so when he died the symbol was lost. Over the years many people have been searching for this symbol, hoping to get this chap surnamed Xie to help them acocmplish something big. Heh - unfortunately, today it was so easily recovered by myself. This has probably disappointed quite a few friends in the martial arts world, but at least it also removed a potential danger." He then kicked Wu Daotong's corpse a few yards away. "Take this chap for example, he may have gotten the symbol, but he couldn't find me. Before he could hand me the symbol he had already lost his life. Who doesn't want to kill others for the privilege? Who doesn't want to gain the symbol? Even the cultured Xuan Su Mansion's Shi couple couldn't resist the lure, what more other people? Heh.. heh.." This last phrase contained an unmistakeable mocking tone to it.

As Shi Qing heard the comment, his face flushed red. He had always been very courteous, but his martial arts were good and his name was famous. When he spoke very few people would dare to offend him. As Xie Yanke mocked him, he realised that he had no way of retorting, as he had neither ability nor good reason to do so. He was always a proud man, and now he felt totally humiliated, like he had no place to stand. Min Rou looked at her husband, and if he showed any hint of charging Xie Yanke she would throw everything she had at him. Even if she knew they had no chance of winning, there was no way she would let this insult just pass.



Two more pages to go before I finish Chapter 1.... yay.... =)

[TaiHan]

thankyou so much

[kidd]

Thanks for the update, Ian