Wu Lin Wai Shi

[atlantean0208]

Thanx Hoju! for the translation. Actually I still not start reading your translation work, just to post something to cheer you up. Don't push yourself with the translation, just do it at a leisurely pace and enjoy your upcoming holiday .

Don't bring the laptop on your holiday and busy finding wifi connection just to update the translation. Just enjoy the hot/moistury/wet/rainy weather of the southeast asia moonson.

[Hoju!]

Back from my holidays and also moved back home now. I have started a new position with my company that is much busier, so we'll play it by ear and see how quickly these updates come.



Chapter 6 continued.....
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Before even half her sentence was finished, a heavy kiss was already planted on her face. The crimson-dressed young man was heard saying, “A real man keeps his word. Come with me.”

Then, against her will, with her feet not even touching the ground, she was dragged out with him. As she opened her eyes, she saw that he was running towards the dwellings over in the other direction. “Where… where are you going?” she cried out in alarm.

The crimson-dressed young man chortled, “I had originally intended on helping you escape, but once you have gotten away, you won’t be paying attention to me anymore. So, after thinking it over, I decided it is best to just keep you here.”

“But you… you…”

“The master of this place is neither my father nor my son,” the crimson-dressed young man sniggered, “but is my mother. You deceived me one time a moment ago, and now I have deceived you once too, so neither of us is on the losing end now. And this will let you know that, even though women are good at trickery, when men want to deceive someone, they are not necessarily inferior to women.”

Startled and angered, Zhu Qiqi burst out in curses: “You ugly pig! You vicious dog! You are an animal that is even lower than a pig or a dog. I wish I could tear you into pieces.” The fiercer her curses grew, the smugger the crimson-dressed young man’s smirk became.

When the burly men in black clothing and the white-dressed young girls in the courtyard saw him approaching, they all bowed from far away and greeted with a smile, “Grand Young Master has returned.”

Some of the girls appeared to be particularly friendly with him and said to him, “Grand Young Master, you did not come home for an entire night again. Be careful that Madam finds out and will not let you come in the door.”

“I have not walked in the door yet,” the crimson-dressed young man laughed. “I jumped in over the wall by the stables… Good jie jie, [older sister; in this case, is a term of intimacy/flirting], you must not let Mother know. The day after tomorrow, I will certainly be nice and intimate with all of you.”

The young girls giggled prettily as they breathed lightly, “Who wants to be intimate with you?... This little lamb that you brought back is not bad looking…” Amidst the sounds of their laughter, the crimson-dressed young man was already pulling Zhu Qiqi behind him and hurrying towards the row of houses behind the bamboo grove.

Out of nowhere, a voice said lightly in a scolding tone, “Stop right there.” The gently charming and light scold had come down from a house [‘lou’; a building with more than 1 story] beyond the bamboo grove. Though the building was several zhang tall, this scolding voice seemed like it was speaking right next to Zhu Qiqi’s ear. Sure enough, the crimson-dressed young man halted and did not dare make a move.

The voice from the upper level of the house was heard saying, “You have the audacity to come back and try to sneak into your room?” Now even more, the crimson-dressed young man did not dare raise his head.

Zhu Qiqi, however, had risked everything already, so she lifted her head up to look. Leaning against the red railing of the upper level of the exquisite house and looking down was a beautiful middle-aged woman, her hair adorned with pearls and jades and piled like a cloud atop her head. Zhu Qiqi had seen many pretty women in her lifetime, but if they were to be compared to this beautiful middle-aged woman, those beauties would all suddenly seem hideous-looking. Zhu Qiqi had only taken one glance at her and now, she did not want to tear her gaze away. Sighing secretly to herself, she thought, “I am a girl and still am like this after looking at her. What would happen if it was a man who saw her? I bet he would not even be able to walk.”

Casting a look over at Zhu Qiqi, the beautiful woman asked coolly, “Where did this girl come from?”

The crimson-dressed young man forced a laugh. “Her? She… she is the one that I [orig word used was ‘child’ and refers to himself] always talk about, Yan Bingwen, Yan Guniang. You had said that you wanted to meet her, so I asked her to come here and let Mother take a look at her.”

The beautiful woman’s eyes sparkled, and she answered with a smile, “Truly an outstanding beauty. It is no wonder that you are head over heels for her. Since that is the case, why don’t you invite her…”

If it had been any other person and she saw that the crimson-dressed young man was deliberately trying to cover up for her, she would dare not say anything else. However, Zhu Qiqi’s nature was fiery, and once she started thinking that she was going to be pulled into a room by the young man, she thought she would rather die. “I am not Yan Bingwen,” she shouted out suddenly. “I am surnamed Zhu. Neither was I invited here by him. I hid myself under your horse-drawn carriage all throughout the journey and infiltrated this place in secret. My purpose was to eavesdrop on your secrets, but I was captured by him instead. Kill me or torture me; do as you please.”

The instant the words were blurted out, the crimson-dressed young man’s palms immediately grew cold as ice. The color of the beautiful woman’s countenance also changed. Glowering fiercely at the young man, she spoke each word clearly: “Bring her up here.”

[Tracing Traveller]

Thanks, Hoju.

Glad to hear that you're back from holiday. Understand that you're busier with the new position, so we won't get to read the update as much as we would want to. Just like to let you know that you already have a fan base for "Wu Lin Wai Shi"

[Hoju!]

Thanks Tracing Traveller.
Zhu77 is grating on my nerves right now.



Chapter 6 continued.....
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The building’s exterior was resplendent, but inside, even more so, it was like a palace that should belong to divine immortals. Moreover, the beautiful woman leaning sideways on a soft tiger-skin bed resembled a stunning beauty of the divine palace, a fairy of the heavens.

The crimson-dressed young man was already down on his knees before her, but Zhu Qiqi had already decided to pay no more heed to her own life and death, so what else did she have to fear? She stood there, her manner haughty, and sneers could often be seen on her face.

The beautiful woman said, “You are surnamed Zhu. What is your name?”

“That should be none of your business,” Zhu Qiqi replied, “but there is no harm for me to tell you. Zhu Qiqi is me; I am Zhu Qiqi. Make sure you heard clearly and don’t forget it.”

“Zhu Qiqi, you have got some gall.”

“Just looking at a great beauty like you should make me happy. What could I be afraid of? It’s a pity, though, that even though you are beautiful, your son is extremely ugly.”

The beautiful woman had never seen such an audacious girl before, and she could not help showing an expression of amazement on her beautiful features. All of a sudden, she ordered, “Bring them up.”

A girl dressed in white, hurriedly rushed downstairs in response to the command. Moments later, up came four brawny men, who looked as if they were forged of iron, carrying the two “White Cloud Shepherd Girls” Zhu Qiqi had seen in the barren forest. The two girls’ faces had already turned a ghastly pale color in fear as they saw the beautiful woman with the cloudlike hair there, and when the big men released the grip on them, they immediately fell forward onto their knees. “Was it the carriage of these two people that you hid under to sneak in here?”

“It seems like it could be, yet it seems like it may not have been,” Zhu Qiqi answered.

An enchanting smile that seemed like it could snatch away a person’s soul suddenly appeared on the beautiful woman’s face, and she said in a soothing voice, “Good child, you are still young. Auntie might as well teach you one thing: in this world, the more beautiful the woman, the more vicious her heart is; on the contrary, the ones who were born ugly actually have kinder hearts.”

“Really?” Zhu Qiqi responded.

Laughing prettily, the beautiful woman said, “If you do not believe me, then watch and see what sort of punishment will come upon girls who work for me and who have been careless.” Her slender, jade hand that was like the bamboo shoots of spring flicked lightly and then suddenly, the two White Cloud Shepherd Girls simultaneously began crying out. Their miserable calls would rise and fall in pitch, and those who heard them could not help feeling saddened.

Those heavily-built, iron-like men, however, did not even hold a trace of tenderness for a beauty. Two of them would join forces against one girl. The one at the back would lift up the girl’s hair while, in one motion of pulling his hands apart, the other one would rip the girl’s clothes to shreds, revealing her brilliantly white, exquisite, and finely curvaceous body. Then, each of the big men reached behind them and pulled out a whip. Like splatters of raindrops, they lashed that frail, snowy-white body, the threads of wind from the whip seeming to absorb people’s souls. The girls rolled around on the floor, shouting and crying out wretchedly as they beseeched over and over for mercy. Within moments, several dozen bright red lash marks were left on their delicate, snow-white bodies. The interlacing scarlet marks on those alluring bodies aroused the vicious nature of the big men even more, and in each of their eyes, the bright flame of cruel, beastly desire could be seen. And so, the lashing from the leather whips grew even more rapid, more intense.

Unable to stand it any longer, Zhu Qiqi yelled hoarsely, “Stop… I beg you… Tell them to stop.”

The beautiful woman smiled faintly and waved her hand. The whips halted. The young girls were barely hanging on to their last breath, and even Zhu Qiqi could not help the tears from flowing all over her face. The beautiful woman smiled, “Now do you know to be afraid?”

“You… hurry and just kill me,” Zhu Qiqi gasped.

The beautiful woman’s voice was comforting. “Good child, I know you do not fear death, but I also know that there are many things in the world that are more painful than death. For example…”

Throwing her hands over her ears, Zhu Qiqi cried shakily, “I don’t want to hear… I don’t want to hear.”

“If that is the case, then be good and tell me, how much of our secrets do you already know? Aside from you, who else knows them?”

“I don’t… don’t know… I don’t know anything at all.”

The beautiful woman smiled again. “You really do not know anything? Fine…”

Zhu Qiqi shudders were coming from the depths of her heart, and she could not refrain from crying out in a hoarse voice, “Shen Lang, where are you? Hurry and rescue me.”

[Tracing Traveller]

Yeah, that Zhu girl is as naive as ever. Typical spoiled brat. The only up side about her is she's cute like hell Maybe GL has thing for a type of girls who are totally unreasonable, yet guys can't go away from them coz they're so attractive.

Thanks, Hoju.

[Hoju!]

Stubborn, spoiled, naive, and loves her guy wholeheartedly... that's the stereotypical wuxia female.



Chapter 6 continued.....
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Before the sound of her cry had died out, the crisp ringing sound of a bell was suddenly heard from outside the purple curtains. The beautiful women’s brows furrowed slightly, and then a pair of flawless jade-like feet, bottoms flat and toes delicate, slipped out from within her light, airy gown and down into a pair of embroidered shoes embellished with pearls. Extending her body gracefully, she rose to her feet and drifted lightly out of the room.

Zhu Qiqi was scared and shocked but, at the same time, able to breath easier now. The crimson-dressed young man turned his head toward her and, exhaling a light sigh, chastised, “I told you not to be a smart aleck, but you just had go say so much……. Now… Ai! Right now, you are lucky. Fortunately, a guest that Mother must see has arrived, otherwise…” Otherwise what? Even if he did not say it, Zhu Qiqi was able to guess.

A white-dressed girl stepped softly to the upstairs level and in a serious voice, informed, “Madam has ordered that this Zhu Guniang be taken to the underground cells temporarily to await punishment.”

“And me?” the crimson-dressed young man asked.

A “pfft” of laughter came from the white-dressed girl, and she giggled, “You? You come with me.”

Zhu Qiqi’s eyes darted all around. All of a sudden, she tossed out a palm and struck one of the big men in black clothes. Her body was seen flying high up into the air, and like a swallow, she threw herself through the window and leapt down off the building.

Surprisingly, the girl in white and the crimson-dressed young man watched as she escaped and did not bother trying to stop her. Zhu Qiqi had not thought that she would be able to get away so easily, and she could not help feeling exulted in her heart because if she wanted to jump out of this building, other people would not be able to stop her.

Who would have thought that, the instant her toes touched the ground, she would hear someone from behind her laughing lightly? “Good child, you have come. I have been waiting for you.” The laughter was gentle, the sound of the words alluring. Clearly, it was the coiffed-hair, beautiful woman’s voice.

Zhu Qiqi felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water right over her head as a chill came over her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. Gritting her teeth, she spun around unexpectedly and struck out with both her palms. Then, she began employing every vicious stance that she could recall. Within moments, she had already executed as many as seven or eight stances. Her lightness kung fu was not weak and her striking speed was not slow, but unfortunately, her skills were too diverse and not pure. Thus, when she used these seven or eight moves, even though she was utilizing the fortes of many sects, not one of the stances had truly been mastered. Her skills were more than enough to deal with any ordinary martial practitioner in jianghu, but in the eyes of the beautiful woman, it was merely like child’s play.

The beautiful woman was heard chuckling softly, “Good child, you know a good number of martial arts…” Her sleeve fluttered lightly, and then the “Qu Chi Acupoint” on Zhu Qiqi’s right side had already been brushed. Immediately, Zhu Qiqi’s right arm could only hang limply. Clenching tightly down on her teeth, she struck out another three stances with her left palm. The beautiful woman’s laughter continued. “But you must know that when you are greedy, you will not be able to chew everything completely. If the martial arts you learn are too numerous and too diverse, they will actually become useless…” Her waist twisted back gracefully, and her lace sleeve brushed out softly again.

A numbing sensation was felt on Zhu Qiqi’s left side “Qu Chi Acupoint”, and then her left arm was also unable to move. Still, she was unwilling to admit defeat. Her legs flew up in succession in an unexpected move from “Northern School’s Cripple’s Mandarin Duck Leg.”

Shaking her head, the beautiful woman said with a smile, “With your intelligence, if you had concentrated and learned only one type of martial art, today you would still have been able to exchange ten stances with me. Now, though… you should just be a good child and admit defeat.” Before she had finished what she was saying, the “Huan Tiao Acupoint” on both of Zhu Qiqi’s were also flicked by her sleeve. Her body grew limp and fell to the ground, unable to stand anymore.

However, not even a single strand of hair was out of place on the beautiful woman’s head. Normally, her poise was already matchless and she carried herself with an air of elegance, but even in combat, her bearing was light and graceful, lulling people into a drunken stupor.

Zhu Qiqi stared dazedly at her for a long while before sighing lightly, “I really never had thought that there was a woman like you in this world, and what is more, I cannot guess what you are scheming. It seems… a time of turmoil is going to come upon wulin again.”

Smiling lightly, the beautiful woman responded, “Never has anyone in the world ever been able to guess what I intend to do. Do you yield to me now?”

Even though her body was not able to move, Zhu Qiqi’s eyes still glared widely. “Why should I yield to you?” she snapped loudly. “If I was your age, I may not have lost to you.”

The beautiful woman chortled, “Such a stubborn child; truly one who would rather die than admit defeat. But I will tell you, when I was your age, my name was already renowned in the world, and I could not find a single rival capable of challenging me. If you could actually live to my current age, you would know then that you had no hope of ever catching up to me in this life or this age. What a pity, though…”

Zhu Qiqi’s thoughts turned to the meaning behind those three words of “what a pity”, to what the woman might do to her when she returned, and to how strange and secretive this place was that, even if she were to die here, no one would know and she had no hopes of anyone coming to rescue her…… The more she thought about these things, the more she could not stop her heart from seeming to freeze. She realized that she truly did not have even the slimmest chance of survival, and all she could do was wait for death. By now, two of the big, black-clothed men were striding towards her, the corners of their lips turned up in fiendish grins in an obvious display of their cruel intentions.

[zhouyu]

thanks for continuing, i am a big fan

now i wish Shen Lang can come and kick some ***

[Hoju!]

Thanks zhouyu. I can't wait for SL to reappear......



Chapter 6 continued.....
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Clenching her jaws together, she thought, “Even if other people do not know that I died here, I should at least know for myself where it is that I died…” Fortunately, her neck was still able to move when she struggled to turn it left and right. And so, with all the strength she could muster, she turned her head for a look. She saw a pathway of five-colored stones that wound past a rock garden and lotus pond. Beyond the cypress grove were more tall pavilions, and she could vaguely make out the outlines of people dressed in clothes of various colors moving about.

She wanted to look some more, but her body was already being lifted up by the two burly men. Four hairy hands, intentionally or otherwise, were pinching her. Zhu Qiqi could not help bursting out into loud curses again. The big man on the left sneered maliciously at her, “B**ch! Why bother pretending to be tough? Sooner or later, you will still…”

Suddenly, a voice from behind said coldly, “Sooner or later, she will still what?” Startled, the two men turned their heads to look and saw the icy stare coming from the crimson-dressed young man’s pair of eyes. Immediately, their faces grew pale in fear, and lowering their heads, they did not dare say another word. The crimson-dressed young man gazed at Zhu Qiqi as if he still had things he wanted to say, but then he was pulled off by the young girl.

The two burly men dragged Zhu Qiqi through a door. Inside, another white-dressed girl was waiting beside a small, red sandalwood table, her jade fingers that were like bamboo shoots of spring toying with the daffodils on the table. When the girl saw Zhu Qiqi, she shook her head and laughed, “You’ve come here and yet you still try to escape? What a waste of effort…” She twisted the table a couple of times. A stone slab beside the table suddenly opened downwards, exposing a deep underground passageway. The passage was remarkably rather brightly lit, lined with exquisitely made copper lamps inlaid into the two walls. The white dressed girl instructed, “The Mount Hua Room is still empty. Take her there.” The two burly men were extremely deferential before this girl. Bowing in response together, they strode down.

Zhu Qiqi suddenly turned her head back to ask, “Good jie jie [big sister], what is this place? Could you please tell me?”

“Aaaw, your one address of ‘jie jie’ was spoken so nicely,” the white-dressed girl smirked. “Unfortunately, I still cannot tell you.”

Immediately, Zhu Qiqi broke out into cusses. “You sly girl! Little ghost! You won’t tell me, but one of these days, I will find out.” The girl merely stared grinningly back and did not bother to pay any attention to her.

This passage below was also windy and complex, and it seemed that it was not inferior to the ancient tomb in these aspects. Two characters were carved in the ancient style over every stone door lining both sides of the passage. One said “Luofu” [mountain range in the Guangdong province] while another said “Qingcheng” [“Green City”; mountain range in Sichuan] – all of them were names of famous mountains throughout the land.

When they reached the “Mount Hua” chamber, the two men activated the mechanism to open the door. The man on the left suddenly leered ferociously, “B**ch! Laozi [Note: here, it is similar to saying ‘your daddy’ in a derogatory manner] will kiss you! What can you do about it?” In the time when he was speaking, that mouth surrounded with stubbly whiskers had already kissed Zhu Qiqi on the cheek.

Surprisingly, Zhu Qiqi neither yelled at him nor resisted, and in fact, said sweetly, “As long as you are a little nicer to me, what is the big deal about a little kiss?”

The big man chuckled, “Now that is what it means to ‘know the situation and know how to behave properly.’ Come here for more kisses……” All of a sudden, he gave a cry of agony, and his entire face was covered in blood. A large chunk of flesh had been bitten off his lip by Zhu Qiqi. In extreme pain and rage, he grabbed her by the collar and was ready to tear downwards.

Zhu Qiqi warned, “So long as you even dare to make a slight move, when the young master of your household arrives shortly, I will certainly tell him…… Heh heh. Even if I don’t say it now, you should know what I will be telling him to do.”

The man was covering his lip with one hand, and his eyes looked like they were going to spew flames. The other man spoke up, “Ma LaoSan, just let it go. It’s not like you don’t know what that little devil king’s temper is like.” With a wave of their arms, they tossed Zhu Qiqi in so that she landed forcefully on the ground, and then, in an instant, the stone door had closed.

Zhu Qiqi breathed out in relief, but bead after bead of tears still unwittingly fell down. She could not be bothered to even think about what type of situation this room would hold because all she could see floating before her eyes were the shadows of her loved ones, and the most prominent shadow naturally was Shen Lang. With tears rolling down and her teeth gnawing on her lip, she cursed quietly, “You callous jerk! Where… where are you right now? Where… where are you now? Why haven’t you come to save me yet?...” Once her thoughts turned to the fact that she should not have left without telling anyone, she could not help sobbing even louder.

But, she really was completely exhausted. Her weeping continued until unknowingly, she drifted off into slumber. She did not know how long she slept. In her nightmares, she seemed to see Shen Lang smiling and walking towards her, but while she gleefully called out to him, he ignored her and instead began getting intimate with the coiffed-hair beautiful woman. As expected, the crimson-dressed young man out of the blue snuck out by her side and said, “I am the better choice…” And then suddenly, the young man turned into a leopard and pounced on top of her…

Crying out in fear, Zhu Qiqi woke up from her nightmare. At some point in time, the crimson-dressed young man had come and stood in front of her, and he was now staring at her with a grin. Those eyes really were like a leopard’s, emanating a sharp and greedy type of light, as if he was just itching to swallow her into his belly.

[Tracing Traveller]

Thanks, Hoju.

Can't wait to see how that guy gonna swallow her Don't think SL can rescue her this time.

[Hoju!]

Chapter 6 continued.....
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Just freshly awakening from that nightmare and in the flickering lamplight, Zhu Qiqi could not figure out, was this another dream? Or reality? Or an illusion? All she felt was that her sweat had soaked through her heavy clothes. With a hoarse voice, she gasped, “Shen Lang… where is Shen Lang?”

The crimson-dressed young man smiled faintly. “Who is Shen Lang?”

Zhu Qiqi calmed herself down, and only then did she realize that it was all just a nightmare. However, this scene before her eyes did not seem all that much better than the dream. Her body still shaking, she barked, “What… what are you here for?”

His eyes had narrowed into a line as he grinned, “What am I here for? Can you not guess?” Reaching out with a finger, he gently began tracing along the dimple on her pale face.

In alarm, Zhu Qiqi shouted, “You… you… get out of here now!”

The look on his face was unabashed. “And what can you do if I don’t get out of here?”

Her pale, dimpled face flushed pink again. “You… you wouldn’t dare?” she quavered. Though her lips said he did not dare, she knew that he most certainly did dare to do it. As she thought about what this young man was going to do to her, all her skin became covered with goose bumps.

Surprisingly, the young man’s hands stopped their motion as he laughed loudly, “I may be a lecher, but I have never forced anyone to do anything in my life. As long as you are a good girl and submit to me, I will rescue you out of here. How about that?”

Through clamped teeth, Zhu Qiqi resisted, “I… I would rather die than submit to you.”

“What is so bad about me that you would rather die than submit? Oh, I know. You don’t like that I am ugly.”

“That’s right,” Zhu Qiqi spat back. “Only female pigs would like an ugly beast like you.”

The crimson-dressed man roared with laughter. “So it is because I am ugly. Fine…” He turned himself away unexpectedly. After quite some time had passed, he turned back around and chuckled, “Now look again.”

Zhu Qiqi had not wanted to look, yet she could not hold back her curiosity either. When she raised her eyes, the shock that she experienced was no small matter. That incomparably hideous-looking youth from a moment ago had now transformed into a man as handsome as Pan An. [Note: Pan An was known as one of the best looking men in Chinese history.] In the light cast by the lamp, she could see his lips were red and his teeth white; his brows were elegant and his eyes bright. His face was pale with a rosy glowing undertone, like a beautiful, high quality jade. Even the well-known handsome male in wulin, “Jade Faced Beautiful Lyre Godly Sword Hand” Xu RuoYu would acknowledge that he was inferior when compared to this young man. Zhu Qiqi gaped at him. “You… you…”

“How do I look now?” the crimson-dressed young man grinned. “Are you willing…”

Zhu Qiqi cursed him with fury, “Monster! Freak! Don’t even think about it.”

The crimson-dressed young man said with a smile, “You still aren’t willing?... Oh, I know. You must dislike that this look of mine is not manly enough. Fine…” As he spoke, he had once again turned himself away, and when you looked at him again, his face was now like bronze, his brows like swords [i.e. straight, slanting up and outwards] and his eyes like those of a tiger. There seemed to be a heroic air between his brows that pressed down upon you. Indeed, he had transformed from a youth who was slightly too effeminate to a valiant, masculine, and strong man. Even his speaking voice had changed as well, as he cupped his fist and asked, “How is this?”

With a sharp intake of cold air, Zhu Qiqi responded, “Don’t… don’t… don’t you even think about it.”

Frowning, the crimson-dressed young man said, “You still are not willing… Ah, I think guniang, you must like mature men, and you do not like that I am so young. Fine. Take another look now.” This time when he turned around, not only were there a few strands of a beard underneath his jaw but even the expression that exuded from between his brows seemed to have altered to be extremely mature so that he really did appear to be a middle-aged man who understood worldly ways and was able to be meticulously considerate to any woman. Indeed, the charm of this type of middle-aged man can sometimes be far more alluring to a maiden than even a young man.

But even in her shock, Zhu Qiqi still shouted angrily at him. Therefore, the crimson-dressed young man transformed into a brawny, boorish male with big eyes, thick eyebrows, and a thick beard that was like iron. “You woman,” he bellowed. “You don’t submit to me [orig word: ‘an’; a more loutish way of referring to yourself], then I’m gonna swallow you.” Right now, not only was his physical appearance like a boorish thug, even his expressions and voice were much rougher. His masquerade really was to perfection. Zhu Qiqi never would have thought that such marvelous skills of disguise could actually exist, and she could only watch wide-eyed.


End of Chapter 6
(Finally! )

[Han Solo]

Thank you.

That guy must have learned the amazing face changing skill of the Sichuan Opera.

Han Solo

[Tracing Traveller]

So is that ugly face his real face? Or is it another mask?

Seems like he's not as bad as first appeared. He went all the trouble to change many appearances though he'd still grab what he likes at the end when his patience runs out.

Thanks, Hoju.

[Hoju!]

Gosh! All the poems in this update. I tried my best, but I'm not certain if they're truly correct, and they definitely do not come out poetic like the original text.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!



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Chapter 7 – Lucky Escape from the Demon’s Hand
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The crimson-dressed young man’s skill in the art of disguises was indeed remarkable, and Zhu Qiqi could not help staring in astonishment. She watched as he chuckled, “Regardless of what kind of man you like, old or young, I can create that type of appearance. If you marry me, it will be like marrying dozens of husbands. Is that not a great type of blessing? Other women may yearn for this but they can never have it. Are you still not willing?”

“You… no matter what appearance you change into, you still have no hope.”

A bitter smile was on the crimson-dressed young man’s face. “You’re not willing. Why? Why is that?... Oh, I know. I bet you are an intelligent girl and only value talent and learning, not appearances. Well, I might as well tell you. Yours truly may not be talented, but from a literary perspective – poetry, verse, song, and poetic essay – I know how to do it all. From a martial perspective, I am adept in eighteen different forms of martial arts. Besides the literary and martial, there is astronomy and geography, medicine and divination, astrology and physiognomy, string and woodwind instruments and singing, zither and chess, hunting, cu ju [~ kickball or soccer], and archery – there is not one of these things that I am not proficient in. If you marry a husband like me, you are guaranteed that your whole lifetime will never be boring or lonely. If you don’t believe me, just watch and see.”

As he was speaking, he had already demonstrated in succession nine different forms, and they were all secret martial arts forms of Shaolin, Wudang, and other major sects that were not passed on to others. Then, with a somersault backwards, he struck the stone wall with a palm. That stone wall that was as strong as refined steel suddenly had a palm imprint in it, five fingers clearly present, as if it had been carved into the stone. Zhu Qiqi’s martial art was not very strong, but what she had seen was extensive. In one glance, she already knew that what this young man had used was the ‘Da Shou Yin’ [Big Hand Imprint] kung fu of the Esoteric Sect [in Buddhism]. This youth was so young, yet he possessed the strengths of many different sects, and moreover, they were all secret skills in jianghu that were not passed on. How could this not be a shocking, unimaginable thing?

Zhu Qiqi could not stop the question from slipping out. “Where did you learn all these martial arts?”

The crimson-dressed young man smiled lightly. “What is so difficult about martial arts? Xiao sheng [self-reference used by young scholars] was bored and once collected some brilliant lines of verse written by the ancients and endowed them with some martial arts stances. Guniang, please point out any mistakes.” His long sleeve suddenly turned over, and it appeared like flowing clouds and surging waters. His moves were natural and ingenious, yet simple. In a clear, resonant voice, he recited, “The fragrant wine turns the red sleeve. It appears a faint verse moves the deep-red lips…” Of these two lines, the first was from the work of Yang JuYuan while the second was actually a brilliant line of a poem written by Tang YanQian. In an ingenious move, he had not only managed to bring them together into a valid couplet but furthermore, they were perfect in describing that one stance. Zhu Qiqi could not help praising him secretly. As the words, “deep-red lips” left the young man’s mouth, his garments suddenly began billowing, as if there were hundreds or thousands of green serpents burrowing around in his clothing. It was apparent that his body was replete with his internal energy, and even if he made no move to attack, he would still be able to injure his opponent. He began reciting loudly again, “The mist passes secretly through the sweet osmanthus garden. The sun’s glory rustles the golden gown.” One of these two lines belonged to Li Shangyin while the other was the work of Xu Hun. Putting the two together one after the other created another excellent couplet. His left arm lowered to his side, its five fingers pointing out in succession. All of a sudden, his body spun around, and his right hand turned over and moved up so it was beside his cheek. His motions were fluid and easy. “The hand falls and confusedly engraves the jade pendant. Facing away to fix the hair [orig. ‘huan’; a knot of hair on top of the head] over the green…” His right hand tilted as he bent both arms and drew them in. With this change in stance, there were defensive measures along with offensive. The crimson dressed youth chanted, “The slender waist fears being girdled, snapping the belt. Hair at the cold temples, a slanting hairpin gives off a graceful, jade light.” As he recited to this point, his body suddenly whirled around three times, and his palms flew upwards at a slant. “Orioles living here for a long time all are acquainted. The green bird that flew west not yet returns with its message.”

Zhu Qiqi blurted out, “What a great move in ‘the green bird that flew west not yet returns with its message.’ ”

The crimson-dressed young man grinned lightly. His left palm suddenly moved swiftly, transforming into palm outlines as he protected the seventy-two major acupoints over his entire body, all the while saying, “The spring scenery before the curtain should be cherished. The flowering branch [figuratively, could also mean a beautiful woman] upstairs smilingly slumbers alone.” The shadow of his right palm thrust forward lightly, and then a copper lamp on the stone wall extinguished in response. He was still standing there motionless as he asked with a smile, “What do you think?”

Of those eight superb lines that he had recited just now, one was written by Li ShangYin, another by Yang JuYuan; one belonged to Xue Qian while another was by Li He. The “all are acquainted” was from a poem by Rong Xing, “not yet returns with its message” was written by Shang Yin, “spring scenery before the curtain” was from the work of Cen Shen, while “flowering branch upstairs” was a brilliant line of Liu ChangQing. These eight lines were not only coupled aptly, they also all belonged to the work of famous poets. If one was not extremely well versed in poetry and literature, how could one combine them together so wonderfully? In addition, those several stances of martial art had flowed so smoothly and were both offensive and defensive. Common martial practitioners of jianghu would have no hope of evading even one of his stances. After watching him up to this point, Zhu Qiqi could not help but admit, “Truly well versed in both the literary and the martial.”

Roaring in laughter, the crimson-dressed young man replied, “I gratefully accept guniang’s lavish praise. Xiao sheng, though, dares not be falsely humble. In this world, if you wanted to find personages like xiao sheng, I am afraid you will not be able to find a second one.”

Zhu Qiqi’s glance shifted, and with a sudden cold smirk, she retorted, “Not necessarily.”

[zhouyu]

thanks for the continued hard work

looks like this guy will go look for Shen lang to fight it out

[rati4u]

Nice work hoju...want it more?

is this weirdo some how becomes shen lang?

[Hoju!]

Happy New Year!



Chapter 7 continued.....
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“Could it be that, guniang, you know someone whose abilities and looks are nearly comparable to xiao sheng’s?”

Zhu Qiqi answered him, “This person that I know, regardless of whether it is literary talent, martial arts, speech, or his expressions, is superior to you in all aspects by a hundred and thousand fold. Someone like you is not even really worthy of putting on his shoes for him.”

The crimson-dressed young man’s stare abruptly turned cold, but in an instant, he was laughing loudly. “Guniang, are you intentionally trying to make me angry?”

“If you do not believe me, that’s fine,” Zhu Qiqi said coolly. “In any case, he is not here at this moment. Hmph, hmph… if he was here, who would be able to confine me?”

The crimson-dressed youth was taken aback in silence for a long while until, all of a sudden, his eyes appeared to emit a scorching light. “I know. He… he is Shen Lang.”

“Correct… Shen Lang, oh Shen Lang, where are you right now? Do you know how much I miss you?” As her thoughts turned to Shen Lang’s name, the look in her eyes became particularly tender. The crimson-dressed young man’s eyes seemed like they were going to spurt fire. His facial muscles were stiff like a corpse, but the gleam in his eyes blazed like fire, and these two in stark contrast formed an extremely peculiar type of magnetism. Unconsciously, Zhu Qiqi’s heart fluttered, and she could not help saying, “But besides Shen Lang, you are also one in a thousand. If the world did not have Shen Lang, I perhaps would have liked you.”

The crimson-dressed young man’s voice was bitter. “But the world does have a Shen Lang, and so you will never like me, right?”

“I do not need to answer that question. You should know the answer already.”

“What if Shen Lang is dead?”

Zhu Qiqi’s expression shifted briefly, but in a moment, she was smiling sweetly in reply. “Someone like Shen Lang will definitely never die before you. You can rest assured about that.”

In a tone filled with hatred, the crimson-dressed young man repeated, “Shen Lang… Shen Lang…” Out of the blue, he stomped his foot. “Fine. I would like to see what kind of character he really is. I am determined on having him die in front of me.”

Batting her lids at him, she responded, “If you have the guts, I will take you to meet him. Who is superior, who is inferior, you will know the instant you see him.”

Unexpectedly, the crimson-dressed youth broke out in uproarious laughter. “What an excellent tactic of ‘provoking the general,’ but yet I am going to let myself fall for your trick…… Fine. I will let you go. I want you to bring him here to meet me.”

Exultation filled Zhu Qiqi’s heart, but the words from her lips were still cool. “Do you dare? Are you not scared that Shen Lang will kill you?”

“My only fear is that Shen Lang will not dare come see me.”

Zhu Qiqi scorned, “Even if this place had ‘mountains of knives and pans of hot oil’ [i.e. extremely dangerous and difficult situation], he will still come. I am just afraid that you…”

The crimson-dressed young man did not need any further goading from her, though. Before her sentence was finished, he had already reached forward and tapped the acupoints on her shoulders and knees to unseal them. In delight and surprise, Zhu Qiqi leapt up, but because her four limbs had been numbed for so long, even though her acupoints were unsealed, her blood was still not flowing smoothly yet. Her body had just stood up before it nearly collapsed again. The crimson-dressed young man managed to catch her just in time. “Are you able to walk?” he asked coolly.

“Even if I cannot walk, I’ll still crawl out of here. I don’t need you to stretch your hand out to support me.”

The crimson-dressed young man gave an icy smirk but did not reply. However, his hands were already gently massaging her knee joints. Zhu Qiqi glowered at him and wanted to shove him away, but for some reason, there seemed to some strange kind of enchantment on this young man’s palms. Anywhere his palms came in contact with, Zhu Qiqi would feel aching, weakness, itching, and numbness, yet when those feelings of aching weakness and itching numbness penetrated into her bones, the feeling was indescribably comfortable. This feeling was something she had never before felt in her life. It made her have no strength to push him away, and in fact, she almost did not want to push him away. Although in her heart she did not want to, her body unwittingly leaned into him. Under the light of the lamp, her pale complexion had unexpectedly turned a captivating red. With tremors in her voice, she cried, “St…stop…… Let go… let go of me.”

His lips were beside her ear as he whispered gently, “Do you really want me to let go of you?”

Zhu Qiqi’s entire body was quivering, and tears glistened as they surged into her eyes. “I… I do not know. Please… please…”

Suddenly, a giggle could be heard from outside the door, and a voice scolded lightly, “So, I had known that you would sneak down here. What do you two think you are doing here?” A note of sourness could be heard in that laughter. It was the white-dressed girl. Shocked and mortified, Zhu Qiqi clenched her teeth and shoved the crimson-dressed young man away. The white-dressed girl gave a sideways glance at her as she smiled faintly, “I thought you detest him. Why are you lying in his embrace now, unwilling to get up?”

Zhu Qiqi’s face flushed even redder. Even though she normally was articulate and capable in arguments, right now, she had no words to counter. It was because she herself did not know, why was this?... This was the first time in her life that she had experienced the taste of passion. She truly had never before known the powerful draw that lust could have and how frightening it could be.

The white-dressed girl’s gaze turned to the crimson-dressed young man. She smiled sweetly, “You have used your ‘soul disorienting tactics’ on her too? You…” She suddenly noticed a glow like fire in the crimson-dressed young man’s eyes. Her body trembled, and her words cut off abruptly.

Step by step, the crimson-dressed young man walked over to her with what seemed like a smile, but yet not quite, in his eyes. “What about me?” he said. The dimples on her cheeks had turned pink as well. With a sudden faint cry, the white-dressed girl was about to turn and flee, but her body was already caught in the young man’s embrace. Her body went limp, not even able to struggle. “You brought this on yourself,” the crimson-dressed young man said slowly. “Do not blame me.”

His gaze was growing brighter and brighter, and his face was becoming more and more flushed. Abruptly, he stretched out his hand and ripped open the front of her dress. Zhu Qiqi gave a shriek and spun herself around, not daring to watch any further. A breeze and something fluttering was felt by her ear. A gown of pure white had been tossed over from somewhere behind her and fallen onto the ground in front of her. She could hear the white-dressed girl’s gasps growing more and more violent and intense.

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......

[Ren Wo Xing]

Happy new year and thanks for the continuing translation!

[Wanlie Tong]

Another wonderful translation. Thanks Hoju.

[sainuu]

thank you for the translation.

[Hoju!]

Thanks for reading.



Chapter 7 continued.....
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Zhu Qiqi’s body began quivering in rhythm with the girl’s breathing. She wanted to dash out the door, yet could not even make herself lift up her foot. She heard the crimson-dressed young man say from behind her, “I’m letting you escape. Why aren’t you hurrying up and leaving?” Biting down on her cherry lips, Zhu Qiqi spun around and quickly stumbled away. The voice of the young man was suddenly heard again ordering, “Pick up that gown and drape it over yourself. After you have gone out the door, every time you encounter a left turn, immediately turn there. Do not stop; do not look back. When the time is right, someone will come meet you. Do not wait and let me change my mind on this.” Her lip was bleeding by now from biting down on it, and she could not even figure out what it was she was feeling in her heart. Going back, she picked up that white gown, all the while not daring to cast another glance at the crimson-dressed young man and white-dressed girl.

Staggering as she darted out the door, she slipped on the white gown with shaky hands. She rounded two bends, her heart still beating uncontrollably. She realized she had wanted to check out what the situation was like in the passageway, but now, no matter what, she did not dare turn her head to look. All she could think was that the crimson-dressed young man was like a demon – even more frightening and more detestable than a demon. Never before in her life had she been more scared or filled with more hate.

From the depths of the passageway between those two stone walls, there seemed to be the faint sound of chains dragging on the ground. Zhu Qiqi, however, did not dare stop to investigate. At every left bend she encountered, she would turn, and only after rounding another two corners did she realize in amazement how large the extent of these secret underground cells were. As she raised her head, she saw two large, strong men up ahead blocking her path. Her heart leapt into her throat again, but now, since there was no way she could go back, she could only force herself to move forward. The people before her may have been frightening, but they were still much better than the crimson-dressed young man.

But surprisingly, when those two men saw her, nothing strange could be detected in their expressions. One of them seemed to be saying, “This girl looks very unfamiliar.”

The other person responded, “She must be someone Madam newly took in.”

When Zhu Qiqi heard this, her heart immediately grew relieved, finally knowing the reason why the crimson-dressed young man had wanted her to put on the white gown. Emboldened, she strode over to them. Sure enough, the two men did not try to hinder her way and instead, bowed and said with a smile, “Guniang, you have to go out to attend to matters?”

Zhu Qiqi dared not say too much, and with a “hmph” through her nose, she hurried past them. Behind her, she could hear the two men secretly muttering, “This girl puts on a haughty air.”

There appeared to be doors in the stone walls on either side, but they were all shut tightly. Zhan Yingsong, Fang Qianli, and those other missing people could perhaps be inside the rooms behind those tightly closed doors, and that unmatched beauty who had been upstairs was certainly the mastermind behind this whole scheme. Even if she was not Cloud Dream Deity herself, she would definitely still have some form of close ties to Cloud Dream Deity.

These were all secrets that Shen Lang had wanted to uncover, and now, Zhu Qiqi knew all of it. As she thought of this and knew that she had finally done something for the one she loved, she felt that all the misery and suffering she went through was not really anything at all. Her steps immediately grew lighter and quicker as she thought, “So, putting in the effort to do something for the one you love brings such joy. But how many mortals on the earth can actually revel in this type of joy? Am I not much more blessed than other people?...”

In the time that these thoughts had passed through her mind, she had already reached the end of the passageway, but she could not see any door that lead out. At that very instant, from the dim passage, a human silhouette darted out. When her gaze landed on it, she could not help getting another scare. This person’s height was greater than eight (ancient Chinese) feet. Zhu Qiqi’s frame was not particularly short, but standing in front of this person, she only came up to his chest. Her body was not especially thin and weak either, but yet her waist was not even as thick as one of his arms. However, although this person was gigantic in size, his movements were very lithe and light. Zhu Qiqi had not heard the tiniest bit of noise before this iron pagoda-like person had already appeared before her. He was like a god or demon of the myths, his body bare from the waist up and covered in a layer of golden paint, his head as large as a ‘ba dou’ [round-bottomed wicker basket] and shaven bald.