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Thread: Wu Lin Wai Shi

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    Default Wu Lin Wai Shi : The untold history of WuLin

    Before I start:

    1) I'm in final year of high school, so please excuse slow, irregular updates.
    2) This is my first translation attempt, so please point out and correct any inconsistencies, misusage, incoherence etc, thanks!

    Given the nature of WLWS, translation notes on this book will be long. Read it if you want, it will certainly help you understand a bit more of the book. For that reason, I'm going to spend the rest of today posting up translation notes before I post up the first chapter ^^

    This is probably one of the most "ancient-languaged" books GL has written. If any of you are familiar with Japanese, you will understand the complex addresses people have for each other based on background, rank, age, sex, relationship and more. Shen Lang himself is very careful with these addresses...certainly not like Lu XiaoFeng or Jiang XiaoYu who are content with using only "you" and "I". In order sometimes to understand the relationships and also the conversation between some of these characters, I have left all of the addresses in brackets after the pronoun. Unfortunately, there are about umpteen different addresses, so I'll have to keep adding to this list. Also, there are places where the sentence would only make sense in English if a pronoun is added...so just don't rely too much on a bare "I" as an indication of rudeness or whatever.

    Apart from mere addresses, there are certain sentences that have a distinct "formal/ancient" feel to it, so the translation notes for this book will be very long indeed ^^; Other stuff: I'm not very familiar with direct translation of this particular style, so some sentences will sound very fragmented. I had to take some liberty with punctuation and sometimes, even entire sentences. I hope I get better as things go, so please bear with me.
    Last edited by luna_rainbow; 07-26-03 at 04:29 AM.

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    Default Pronouns/measurements/etc

    Measurements:
    liang - I use "ounce", which is about 30g.
    jin - approximately half a kilogram. 16 liang = 1 jin, so "pounds".
    li - approx half a kilometre.

    Normal pronouns in Chinese:
    "wo"/"ni" - I/you; this is used in informal speech.

    District pronouns:
    "an" - "I"; I think this is used by people from ShanDong, someone please check for me, thanks! Usually very slangish, and (not a stereotype on people who come from ShanDong or anything) has connotations that the speaker is not very well-educated, brutish.
    "zan" - "I"; usually it's "zanmen" which means "we/us", from DongBei.

    Cultural pronouns:

    xiaodi - "little brother"; male; this can be used both as "me" or "you", usually in familiar situations. Used as "me", this can be used
    1) to people around your age but whom you admire
    2) to people slightly older than you
    3) to your elder brother, either by blood or by oath
    When used as "you", you would either have to be very familiar with the person (on brotherhood relationships) or it will be taken with condescension.

    zaixia - "this lowly one" (remind you of Kenshin?); male; this is the most common one to be used as "I" when speaking to people you are unfamiliar with. When used, the speaker is usually someone who is quite refined, ie. well-educated and well-bred, even though the wording doesn't reflect that.

    gexia - (someone please give me a direct translation of this...) male; this could be called the "you" form of "zaixia" - used to people you are unfamiliar with, and neither places them above or below your status.

    renjia - "that person"; I/he/she/them; this is a generalistic term that can be used to refer to almost anyone, and is used often in conversational speech.

    xiaoge - "little elder brother"; male; you; not used very often, but only for children and teens, and so if used in any other context, has condescending attachments.

    pengyou - specifically "friend"; you; I think it's pretty self-explanatory..Jin BuHuan uses it to suck up to Shen Lang.

    laoxiong - "old elder brother"; male; you; used for acquaintances who are slightly older or about the same age as you - quite familiar, but not necessarily very good friends.

    something-mou - is usually "surname"-mou; unisex; I/he/she; when used as I it is "strong-sounding" and definitely informal, sometimes can be conceived as conceited. When used to address others, it is when you don't know them well and usually have no good feelings for (could be unbiased too).

    -shaoxia - honorific attached to the surname of someone who is young, honourable and practises martial arts.

    -daxia - similar honorific attached to the surname of someone who is older.

    -ge - "big brother"; honorific attached to someone who is
    1) of similar age but to whom you hold respect
    2) slightly elder
    3) your elder brother, either by blood or oath (note: your oath "elder" brother doesn't actually have to be older than you)

    qianbei - "older generation"; you; polite address used for people who are at least a generation older than you

    laokua - male; I; used by elderly men (of at least 50)

    -laoqianbei - "old older generation"; honorific attached to someone who is pretty old (at least 50)

    -laobiaotou - you won't see this very often, it's a title attached to an aged someone who is the head of an escort group (anyone have the correct term?). The escort groups are employed to guard the transport of gold or treasures.

    -daoren - identifier for someone who has left their homes to pursue their Taoist beliefs. Usually attached to their title, and not name.

    -dashi - honorific for a monk who is ranked pretty high in the temple hierarchy.

    -daozhang - honorific for a Taoist who is ranked pretty high in their own hierarchy.

    -gongzi - honorific for a young man of a wealthy or honourable family.

    -xiong - "elder brother"; male; you; attached to the end of someone's surname, it suggests a degree of familiarity and is used for people who are about your age. Note that unless you are very familiar, no one calls each other something-di ("younger brother"), so you will often see two people both addressing each other by -xiong, even though one of them may be obviously older.

    laorenjia - "old person"; usually it is attached to the specifying pronoun ie. ni-laorenjia, ta-laorenjia etc. It is a familiar but polite way of addressing elderly people.

    wanbei - "younger generation"; I/us; used when speaking towards people significantly older than yourself

    -guniang - female; you/she; used on young women with whom you are on equal or sometimes higher social standing.

    pinseng - male; I; used by monks only

    laofu - male; I; used by elderly people and is more formal than "laokua"

    laozhang - male; I; used by elderly people but quite informal.

    laozi - male; I; used by anyone who is older than whomever they are speaking to and is a very conceited way of self-address.

    xiongtai - "elder brother"; male; you; this is very polite and a complimentary way of address for someone who is around your age and rank. It is not as familiar as some of the other addresses meaning "brother", and it is often used when you want to get on someone's good side.

    benzuo - "this seat"; I; this is used by and gives clear indication of the status of high-ranking persons within a religion, sect or cult
    Last edited by luna_rainbow; 07-27-03 at 09:40 AM.

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    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Cool

    Your first member for your fan club.

    Could you give the English Title too?
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

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    Senior Member junny's Avatar
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    I'm not sure if it's got anything to do with Japanese, but these terms you've listed form part of the Chinese way of formal address. It's not something very surprising, actually.

    But nice one on the notes to translation.
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    Lightbulb Cast

    I'll try to keep to characters who get mentioned more than once or twice.

    Shen Lang - "wanderer"; main character of the story, implicated as son of Shen TianJun.

    Lai QiuHuang - "bright autumn"; one of Shen Lang's victims.

    Leng San - "cold third"; the third brother of the Leng family, employed by the Virtue Manor.

    Li ChangQing - "evergreen"; second brother in the three at Virtue Manor; also known as "Bu bai shen jian" ie. "Invincible Godly Sword"

    Qi Zhi - "wisdom"; first brother (the sick one) at Virtue Manor; also known as "Tian ji di ling, ren zhong zhi jie" ie. "Knows heaven and earthy, prodigy amongst mankind"

    Lian TianYun - "heaven cloud"; third brother at Virtue Manor; also known as "Qi tun dou niu" ie. "Angrier than a charging bull" or "Angry enough to swallow a charging bull" (either way, you get the point)

    DuanHong-daozhang - "broken rainbow"; Taoist from QingCheng XuanDuGuan; one of the seven top martial artists

    TianFa-dashi - "heavenly law"; monk from WuTaiShan TianLongSi; one of the seven top martial artists

    Liu YuRu - "jade endurance"; one of the seven top martial artists; aka "Hua Shan yu nv" ie. "jade girl from HuaShan"

    Xu RuoYu - "as though ignorant"; one of the seven top martial artists; aka "Yu mian yao qin shen jian shou" ie. "jade faced beautiful lyre godly sword hand" (hrm, what a long title, but anyway).

    Qiao Wu - "five"; one of the seven top martial artists; from ChangBaiShan; aka "Xiong Shi" ie. "Fierce lion" or "Manly lion" (or even "Male lion").

    Hua SiGu - "fourth aunt"; one of the 7; aka "Qiao shou lan xin nv zhu ge" ie. "Clever hands, good hearted female ZhuGe" (Zhu ge is the famous prodigious strategist from "Three Kingdoms").

    Jin BuHuan - "does not change"; one of the 7; from KaiBang, ie. Beggar Association; aka "Jian yi yong wei" ie. "See chivalry acts brave".

    HongFa-dashi - "Buddha law spreading"; head of ShaoLin; one of the last survivors at HengShan but killed himself out of grief;

    TianXuan-daozhang - "Heavenly mysteries"; head of WuDang; one of the last survivors at HengShan; died later when he returned to his temple

    Shen TianJun - "Heavenly monarch"; one of the last survivors at HengShan but killed himself later out of grief; implied as Shen Lang's father; aka "Jiu Zhou Wang" ie. "King of the nine provinces"

    Cai YuGuan - "jade pass"; aka "Wan Jia Sheng Fo" ie. "Live Buddha of a thousand homes"; aka "Kuai Le Wang" ie. "Happy King"; before age 20 Cai Liang ("bright"); 20 to 26 Cai YingMing ("heroic brightness"; 26 to 37 Cai Li ("stand"); after 36 Cai YuGuan

    Leng Er - "two"; second brother of Leng family, manages the financial side of Virtue Manor.
    Last edited by luna_rainbow; 07-26-03 at 05:27 AM.

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    Thank you very much, luna_rainbow.

    Wow! my christmas wish do come early this year..

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    Waii, don't get too excited ^^; I'm going to be very slow with this, and I hope my translation skills are up to the task (this book is so wordy!)

    Wu Lin Wai Shi - The untold history of the fighting world

    Chapter 01 - Wind and snow over ZhongZhou (Feng Xue Man Zhong Zhou)

    Angry snow, fierce cold, the world was chillingly quiet. Within the distance, everything was an unbroken silvery white. Outside KaiFeng, in amongst the falling snow, two horses galloped close. The man on the front horse was wearing a worn coat and both his hands were hidden within the sleeves, leaving the reins tied on the bridle.

    The horse was extremely handsome, but the rider appeared destitute. He was wearing an old and worn marten hat that pressed over his eyes in the onslaught of the wind, concealing his face. The horse behind him was bearing a dead man; the body was already frozen numb, but because of the coldness, the face was preserved as though still alive. The flamboyant clothing remained fresh and colourful, as untouched as new. There was not a mark on the entire body, and the last faint smile remained frozen on the face, making him appear at peace and content, as if he had died in comfort.

    No one knew where these two horses came from. Where they were going, was a famous manor outside KaiFeng. If the man on the horse strained his eyes, he could see the murky outline of the estate.

    The manor was located on the west of the frozen mote, the hundreds of houses generating a grand atmosphere. The high doors were never closed, and the snowy ground before the door was covered with hoofprints, but there was not a trace of humans outside. On entering the yard, some tattered notices were pasted under the eaves: some of them have been eroded away by the wind and snow, and the words on them were no longer crisp. On the right was a courtyard that functioned like a gatehouse, and the front hall was bare from all decoration but for a dozen new coffins, as though waiting for dead people to be buried. Even though it was so cold, there was no fire in the hall. Two black-clothed men used the coffins as tables, and drank to each other's health.

    Beside the coffin were already three empty vats, but the two men showed no trace of drunkenness. They were both skinny, and their countenances were severe, as alike as two stone statues, but they swapped no conversation. The man on the left had no right hand: from the wrist downwards was a large black hook that looked at least a dozen pounds heavy. As he flung down his hook, it appeared as though he would smash the coffin lid, but where the iron hook fell it picked up a grain of peanut without even touching the peanut plate. The man on the right still had his complete body, but with each cup he drank, he bent and coughed incessantly. He still continued to drink cup after cup as though he would rather die than not drink.

    Past the long corridors was the main hall. Within, the fire burned ferociously, and there were eight tables laid out with rich wine and dishes, but there were only seven people using them. All seven sat at separate tables, and each at the head of the table, as though no one wanted to sit beneath the head, so no one shared a table. Their age were at the most thirty-one, give or take a year, but their airs were grand, and their expressions were contemptuous. Within the seven, there were men and women, monks and not, some had long swords, some had pouches. The looks in their eyes were all extremely alert. It was obvious that these were all top young martial artists. They appeared to know each other, and yet were strangers to each other, but they definitely were not from the same place. Who knew why they came simultaneously.

    Around the hall, and past another corridor, was another silent yard, where the smell of herbs wafted through the tightly closed windows. Presently, a child came out holding a medicine pot, and it was possible to see that inside the room was a white-haired old man. One was skinny and unhealthy, bundled on the sickbed, and other stood tall and composed. His brows arced towards his temples, his eyes were charged with energy, and his pair of palms was white as jade. Even though his grandeur had faded with the years, he must have been a handsome man when younger. There was another fierce looking man, his pair of round eyes full of confidence, and his shirt open in spite of the cold. If it wasn't for his white hair, who would have thought that he was an old man?

    The three men surrounded the sick bed. On the desk beside the bed was a pile of accounts and dozens of belts made from different colours and materials. At this point, the round-eyed bearded old man was unpicking each belt. Within the belts were small rolls of paper. The tall man held a brush in one hand, and with his other he flipped open the paper to copy down the words. Each roll of paper had at the most three lines. No one knew what they said, but the three men were frowning soberly.

    A moment later, the tall man heaved a long sigh and said, "You and I spent our lifeblood on this for so many years, wasted the strength of hundreds of people, and all we found were just this little bit. I hope..." He coughed lightly and shut his mouth, but the concern in his brows only grew heavier.

    The sick old man smiled and said, "All this amounts to quite a lot. We did our best, so there is bound to be success."

    The bearded old man clapped his hands together and said loudly, "Big bro is right, that beast is at the most a human, it's not like he would eat us brothers?"

    The tall man smiled slightly and said, "The seven most famous and best fighters in the world for the last ten years are now all gathered in the front hall awaiting. If the skills of these seven people match their reputation, and if they cooperate, there will be hope that this task can succeed. The only problem is that they are young and too proud, and would not be able to combine their strengths."

    At this moment, the two horses reached the manor. The man wearing the old coat and hat leaped off the horse and carried the body into the yard. His steps were lazy and slow, as though he has no strength, but the hand that held the body appeared to do so effortlessly. He seemed poor and shabby, but he didn't pay any attention to the horses when he left them. Even though the horses were worth thousands of ounces of gold, he didn't seem to care. He headed straight for the shielding wall and pushed his hat lazily upward, revealing a face of a straight-browed and clear-eyed handsome youth. His lips curved upwards so that even when not smiling he retained a fraction of a smile. His attitude appeared languid, but that careless attitude towards everything was indescribably likeable. Only the long sword on his waist caused any trace of fear, but the hilt looked so old it made people feel that even though a sword was a tool for killing, when it was on his body, there was nothing to fear from it.

    The notices on the walls were in fact for capturing wanted criminals. On each notice was written a person's name and background, their crime, and the reward. Every one of them was an unforgiveable sinner, and there were more than a dozen notices. It was obvious there were a lot of criminals in recent years. The name on the bottom did not belong to the government, only "The Master of Virtue Manor". This "Master of Virtue Manor" spends his own money to catch criminals and puts no shame upon the word "Virtue".

    The shabby youth glanced at the notices and read on the most tattered one, "Lai QiuHuang; 36; skills from KongTong; skilled with a double whip; pouch has seventy three DeathDoor Nails, one of the nineteen hidden weapons using cricket poison; this man is not only very cunning, but also very malicious, robbing and raping, leaving nothing undone; for seven years he has committed crimes at least once a month; if someone captures him, dead or alive, reward is five hundred ounces of silver, guaranteed. From Master of Virtue Manor."

    The shabby youth tore off this notice and turned towards the small yard on the right. He acted as though he has been here for many times already and knew his way around. When the statue-like black-clothed men saw him, they glanced at each other and stood.

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

    Just this little bit for starters, still trying to dig my way through chapter 1 >.<

  8. #8
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Cool

    Great begining.

    Hope that young handsome man is sheng Lan.
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

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    Keep up the good work Luna

    A suggestion about your cast list; maybe you could list the characters as they appear in this novel in a Dramatis Personae thread for The Untold History of the Fighting World alá Athena and Junny who did one for their respective translations?
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    Originally posted by Goofy
    Great begining.

    Hope that young handsome man is sheng Lan.
    that will be cool.!

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    Default Chapter 01 cont.

    Noodles: Okay, but I'll have to get to that later ^^;

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

    The shabby youth placed the body on the ground, stretched lazily and opened his palm in a request for the silver. The one-armed black-clothed man hooked the body up and studied it. His cold eyes warmed slightly and he ran out with the body gripped under his arm. The other black-clothed man poured a cup of wine and passed it over, and the shabby youth gulped it down. From beginning to end, the three of them, like three mutes, did not exchange a single word.

    The one-armed black-clothed man skirted via a small path into the second yard, and the tall old man finally came out. Upon seeing him, he smiled and asked, "Who is it this time?"

    The one-armed black-clothed threw the body on the snow and pointed with his right index finger. The tall old man bent, looked, and an expression of delight came over his face as he blurted, "Ah! Lai QiuHuang!"

    The bearded old man ran out when he heard it and equally delighted, yelled, "The Three-Handed Wolf is finally killed? Heaven has eyes, who killed him?"

    The one-armed black-clothed man said, "A human!"

    The bearded old man laughed and cursed, "I(an) know it's a human, obviously it can't be a weasel, can it? You son-of-a-*****, can't you say a word more..."

    Before he finished speaking, the one-armed black-clothed man suddenly swung his hook over, tearing through the air at a frightening speed. Before the hook even arrived, there was already a forceful chill upon the brow. The bearded man jumped in fright and flipped back into the room. Even though his body was large, his movements were light and agile, but despite his hasty dodge, a gash was still torn from the cloth at his chest. The one-armed black-clothed man dealt out one attack and did not pursue it. Angrily, the bearded old man cursed, "You bastard, attacking me again, if I(an) was any slower I'd have been torn in two by now. You *****-..."

    Suddenly, the old man on the sick bed lightly admonished, "Third brother, shut up. It isn't like you don't know LengSan's temper, yet you still curse him, you're just asking to be bashed."

    The bearded man laughed loudly and said, "I(an) was only kidding with him, he can't hit me(an) anyway. LengSan, if you can hit me(an), then you've got guts."

    LengSan remained poker faced and ignored him, walking straight towards the sickbed and said, "Five hundred ounces." Suddenly he flipped a hand back, aiming straight for the bearded man's shoulder. He didn't use the hook because the hand made no noise.

    The bearded man flew back and hit the wall with a "bang", but stood up immediately. The hard stone wall were almost shattered by him hitting it, but he didn't seem hurt at all, and he yelled angrily, "You bastard, you really want to fight?" He pulled up his sleeves and looked ready.

    The tall old man flitted up and stood between the two of them, and said harshly, "Third brother, you're acting like a kid again!"

    The bearded old man said, "I(an) was only asking him....."

    The tall old man interrupted, "You don't need to ask. Looking at the way Lai QiuHuang died, you should already know that it must again be that strange youth who killed him."

    The sick old man said, "Who?"

    The tall old man said, "No one knows his name, and no one knows how good his wugong is, but just in the last year, he's brought seven dead bodies, and all seven were criminals we have been wanting for many years without success. They have all committed many crimes, were cunning, and their wugong levels were very high. No one knows how this youth managed to kill them."

    The sick old man frowned, "He's been here seven times and you still don't know anything?"

    The tall old man said, "Every time he comes, he never says more than ten words. If you ask for his name, he doesn't answer but smile and shake his head."

    The bearded old man couldn't help laughing and said, "That sort of stubborn temper is just like LengSan, but at least he has a smile on his face, not like LengSan's corpse face."

    LengSan's eyes flashed and the bearded old man jumped aside, laughing. Even the sick old man had to smile. A moment later, he asked, "How do you know it's him today?"

    The tall man said, "All the people he killed has that mysterious smile on their faces. I(xiaodi) have already checked very closely, but I can't tell what he did."

    The sick old man tipped his head to one side and pondered this. The bearded old man and the tall old man stood quietly to one side, not daring to disturb him.

    LengSan stretched his hand out again, and said, "Five hundred ounces."

    The bearded old man laughed and said, "The silver's not for you, what are you so impatient about?"

    The two of them were arguing again, but the sick old man still mused silently. After a while, he said slowly, "This youth must have an interesting background. Invite him to what's happening today, he might be able to help......LengSan, invite him to the front hall for some wine....."

    LengSan said, "Five hundred ounces."

    The sick old man chuckled and said, "That's the cute side of LengSan, it doesn't matter what he does, he ties up all the loose ends. It doesn't matter who you are, he still won't let you off. As long as he says one sentence, it holds stronger than a nail that's nailed into the wall, even I can't move him....Second brother, hurry up and get the silver for him, but when LengSan give the youth silver, don't let him go."

    LengSan took the silver, and left immediately, without an extra word. The bearded old man grinned and said, "It's rare to see a servant this fiercer than the master."

    The sick old man said sternly, "Considering the brothers' wugong, if it wasn't for the friendship between his father and me, he would not lower himself to be here. How can you regard him as a servant, third brother."

    The tall old man glanced at the sick old man and smiled slightly, saying, "It is probably even more difficult to make third brother speak with a little more manners than it is making LengSan open his mouth."

    The shabby youth and the other black-clothed man still haven't spoken, but drank facing each other. The two of them drained cup after cup; the black-clothed man would cough incessantly every time he tipped the cup; but the shabby youth was having much more fun. Soon, the number of vats beside the coffin increased by one more. With the silver in one hand and the body hooked in another, LengSan strode in, threw the silver on the coffin, flipped open another coffin lid, and with a swing, threw the body in. By the time his movements could be traced, he was sitting on the floor and drinking.

    The shabby youth drank three cups, picked up the silver, smiled and bowed and was ready to leave. With a flash, LengSan was in front of him and blocked his way. The shabby youth frowned slightly, as though asking "Why?"

    It was impossible for LengSan to stay silent any longer and he answered, "The Master invites you to the hall."

    The shabby youth said, "No thank you." (NB: literal "I am unworthy of it")

    Speaking seven words was already more than enough for LengSan and keeping his mouth firmly shut, he remained in front of the youth. If the youth stepped to the left, he blocked the left; if the youth stepped to the right, he blocked the right.

    The shabby youth smiled slightly and his body darted behind LengSan. Just as LengSan turned to chase, the youth was already beside the wall and was waving smilingly. LengSan knew that he couldn't catch up with him any more, and suddenly swung the hook towrds his own head. Shocked, the shabby youth lunged over. Before he even reached, a gust of palm wind had pushed LengSan's hook to the side, but still tore an almost bone-deep gash on his left shoulder.

    The shabby youth was both shocked and surprised, "Why did you do that for?"

    Blood flowing from LengSan's shoulder, he replied coldly without even a frown across his expression. "You go, I die."

    Stunned, the shabby youth shook his head and sighed, "I won't go, you won't die."

    LengSan said, "Come with me." He turned and led the youth into the hall, and said again, "Sit."

    Without even sparing a look at the people in the hall, he turned and left.

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

    This will probably have to last you until next weekend. How often do people usually update?

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    Moderator Noodles's Avatar
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    How often do people usually update?
    It varies. We've got:

    Me: At least once a week
    Athena: Almost everyday
    Meh: Recently posting at least twice a week
    Junny: About once a week
    Ian Liew: So far about once a day
    Moin: Updates across the three novels at least once a month
    Tigerwong: Once in the past month
    Last edited by Noodles; 07-28-03 at 01:29 PM.
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    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Cool

    Hope the next update will be longer.

    from the greedy reader.

    thanks for the translation and sincerely hope to see more of this story soon.
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

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    Default More chapter 01

    Ah, finally got through a bit more and GL will hopefully assume his short, dialogue-filled writing style not far from now. Personally I don't really like the first few chapters of this book: information overload. But anyway, here's the rest of the first half of the chapter, enjoy!

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    The shabby youth watched him disappear and forced a hapless smile. He picked a random table and sat below the head seat. On the head seat was a monk of about thirty years old, wearing a blue coloured monk-robe. The expression was solemn, giving no way to laughter or speech, and he sat straight-backed with his hands on his knees. He did not move, his eyes remained focused in the distance as though completely unaware that someone had sat down in front of him. The shabby youth smiled at him but received no response. He picked up the wine bottle and filled his cup, ready to drink.

    The blue-robed monk suddenly said in a low voice, "No one who drinks is to sit on this table."

    The shabby youth hesitated, but immediately smiled again and said, "Yes." Placing down the cup, he went to another table.

    The one sitting at the head this time was a well-dressed and good-looking young man. Before the shabby youth even sat down, he said coldly, "I(zaixia) don't like to watch people drink either."

    The shabby youth said, "Oh." Without another word, he went to the third table where at the head was seated a beautiful woman dressed in snow white clothes. She stared at him coldly as he approached and scowled, so he quickly left for the fourth table. A skinny Taoist suddenly stood and spat in every dish in front of him, and then sat down without expression. The shabby youth watched him with a smile and headed for the fifth table, where there was a fat and ugly woman who had a wart beside her chin and a head of yellow hair sat devouring her food. She had almost eaten most of the dishes in front of her.

    This time, the shabby youth frowned to himself and hesitated, but suddenly someone on the neighbouring table laughed, "Wine-loving friend, come sit here."

    The shabby youth glanced over and saw a pocky one-eyed beggar, who wore a coat with many kinks on it, smiling at him. Even a table apart, he could smell the sour stench from the beggar, but the shabby youth went and sat down without any hesitation. Smiling, he said, "Thank you very much."

    The one-eyed beggar laughed and said, "I wanted to have a good drink with you(gexia), but unfortunately there's no more wine in this bottle. So I can only pretend the vegetables are wine and show my sincerity." He picked up his chopsticks and placing it between his yellow teeth, sucked it clean before picking up a piece of hoof fat and placing it on the youth's plate. The shabby youth ate the entire thing without so much as a glance, as though even if it had been spat out of a dog's mouth, let alone given to him by a person, he would eat it regardless.

    On the seventh table beside them, a purple-faced big man observed the careless attitude of the youth and became so interested he forgot to drink the wine in his hand.

    Suddenly a blue-clothed child ran to their table with a full bottle of wine and smiled, "The wine came late, please forgive me." And filled their cups.

    The shabby youth smiled, "Thanks!" And fished out a seal of one hundred ounces of silver and gave it to the child.

    The blue-clothed child was stunned for a minute, and asked, "This...what's this?"

    The shabby youth smiled and said, "The silver's for you(xiaoge) to buy shoes."

    The blue-clothed child stared stupidly at the silver in his hand, saying, "But......but....." Suddenly, he turned and ran. Even though he had seen plenty of openhanded people, he had never seen someone so generous.

    The one-eyed beggar held up his cup and said, "A very generous friend, I(zaixia) drink to your health." The two held up their cups and drained them. The one-eyed beggar suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Recently, I(zaixia) need some emergency money, I don't know if you(pengyou) can..."

    Before he finished, the shabby youth had taken out the remaining four seals of silver and pushed it over the table, smiling, "It's only this little, you(laoxiong) don't have to be polite."

    These five hundred ounces he worked so hard to earn was spent so easily. It really was on to the left hand and off the right hand, without so much as a frown.

    The one-eyed beggar pocketed the silver and sighed, "I(zaixia) needed for emergency money six hundred ounces, why did you(pengyou) have to be so stingy and only give me four hundred."

    The shabby youth smiled slightly and took off his old coat and said, "Even though this leather coat is old, it should be worth two hundred ounces of silver, you(laoxiong) can take it too."

    The one-eyed beggar took the leather coat and blew on the fur, then said, "Hnn, the fur's not too bad, but unfortunately it's a bit too old..." He flipped it back and forth to examine it, then added, "At the most it would be one hundred and fifty ounces, and then I have to pay fifteen ounces of commission, aye....aye, I guess I'll have to put up with it."

    Even though someone who had never met him had been so generous, he appeared to feel mistreated and did not utter even half a word of gratitude.

    The shabby youth didn't mind at all, even though all he was wearing was a shirt. He didn't seem cold either, just smiled and kept drinking.

    The purple-faced man beside them suddenly slapped his table and shouted, "You imbecile, if it wasn't for the fact we're in the Virtue Manor, I(Qiao-mou) will definitely fix you up."

    The one-eyed beggar glared and said, "You stinking brat, who are you cussing?"

    The purple-faced man pushed his cup down and stood up, yelling angrily, "You, what are you gonna do?"

    The one-eyed beggar was originally very fierce, but when he realised that his opponent was fiercer, he suddenly smiled again, "So you're cussing me, good.....good..."

    The shabby youth seemed found himself stunned yet amused by the display.

    The purple-faced man walked over and patted his shoulder. Pointing at the beggar's nose he said, "Brother, this man takes advantage of good people and are afraid of the evil. He wants to get bargain out of others all the time. You gave him your silver for no reason, and he still called you stingy. He is even worse than an animal."

    The beggar acted deaf and sipped from his cup, sighing, "Good wine, good wine! If you don't drink more of the wine you didn't have to spend money on, aren't you stupid.

    The purple-faced man glared at him angrily, but the ugly woman on the neighbouring table smiled and said, "Qiao Wu-ge, even though this person is nasty, but he's been cussed pretty harshly by you, so just let him off."

    Even though she was ugly, her voice was incomparably gentle and comfortable on the ears.

    The purple-faced man, Qiao Wu, humphed coldly and said, "For Hua SiGu's sake....Hmph, forget it." Despondently, he returned to his seat and sat down heavily.

    Hua SiGu laughed and said, "Qiao Wu-ge really is very just. He gets even more pissed than the person who is getting bullied...."

    The black-head Taoist cut in coldly, "The Emperor doesn't get angry, but the eunuch die of anger, what's the point." (*Chinese saying: eunuch is more worried than the Emperor; means that the person in the situation isn't worried, but someone else watching is)

    The shabby youth found their odd temperaments very interesting, but he kept his smile on his face and didn't speak. Suddenly, a loud laughter floated in from the back and someone said, "Sorry for keeping all of you for so long." The tall old man walked in, accompanied by the laughter.

    The one-eyed beggar stood first, and smilingly said, "If it had been anyone else, maybe, but since it is you(qianbei), I(zaixia) would be willing to wait for a year or half more."

    The tall old man smiled and said, "Jin-daxia is too generous." Glancing around, he said, "Today's meeting involves WuTaiShan TianLongSi's TianFa-dashi, QingCheng XuanDuGuan DuanHong-daozhang, 'HuaShanYuNu' Liu YuRu-guniang, 'YuMianYaoQinShenJianShou' Xu RuoYu Xu-daxia, ChangBaiShan 'XiongShi' Qiao Wu-xia, 'QiaoShouLanXinNuZhuGe' Hua SiGu, KaiBang 'JianYiYongWei' Jin BuHuan Jin-daxia. For all seven of you to come, I(zaixia) is extremely happy, besides the added presence of...." He looked at the shabby youth and smiled, "Would this young hero disclose his name?" (*NB: I'm really sorry guys, GL packed all the introduction to the people in here.)

    The black-headed Taoist said coldly, "A nameless man is unworthy of being at equal standing with us."

    The shabby youth smiled, "That's right, I(zaixia) am nameless."

    The tall old man smilingly said, "If you(gexia) don't want to say your name, I(laokua) won't force you, I(laokua) really admire your(gexia) success."

    When everyone saw that such a famous martial artist praised this youth's wugong, they finally looked at him, but still with suspicion. Even though the shabby youth had no trace of arrogance on his face, yet despite being amongst the top seven famous martial artists, he showed no awkwardness. He smiled faintly and kept his mouth firmly closed.

    "HuaShanYuNu" Liu YuRu suddenly said, "What is the matter that urged you(qianbei) to call us here?" Her entire body was clothed in snowy white, and on her neck was a snow-white fox skin, complementing her face into a beautiful flower.

    The tall old man said, "Liu-guniang asked a good question. I(laokua) called everyone here because there is indeed something important and we need to beg a favour."

    Liu YuGu-guniang's eyes moved and she smiled sweetly, "We're not worthy of the word beg. If anything, Li-laoqianbei should just tell us."

    The tall old man said, "Everyone probably know the beginning and end of this story already, but because I(laokua) wants everyone to be clearer on it, I will have to start from the beginning..." His paused slightly. "There's an old rumour that within Wulin, there will be an upheaval every twelve years. Nine years ago, it was exactly the time of upheaval for Wulin: within three, four months, there were sixteen new cliques, and every moth there was an average of ninety-four battles between well-known people, a hundred and eighty blood battles, each time an everage of elevan people died...and the number is more for those who are unknown......" he sighed and continued, "In fact it was possible to see how messy it was just from this, but when it reached the winter of that year, the situation became ten times worse."

    The old man seemed to recall the horrors of the past and the pain showed itself in his clear eyes. He stood dazed for a while before continuing, "Because at that year after the Mid Autumn, spreading within Wulin was a shocking rumour. It said that the 'Wu Di Bao Jian Seventy-two Nei Wai Gong Mi Ji' that had been used by 'Wu Di He Shang' a hundred years ago was hidden on HengShan HuiYanFeng." He sipped from a cup, then said, "No one knows where the news leaked out from, but because of the attraction of 'Wu Di Bao Jian', most Wulin heroes would rather believe its existence than not. No one wanted to give up this chance, and as soon as they heard the news, they dropped everything on their hands and rushed to HengShan. Reportedly, on the road to HengShan, at least hundreds of horses ran to their deaths every day. The stronger Wulin heroes would draw their swords as soon as they hear of another person aiming for HengShan, because the less people who reach HengShan, the less rivalry for 'Wu Di Bao Jian'. Most unfortunately, any innocents who travelled to HengShan were murdered too."

    When he said this, "XiongShi" Qiao Wu and "NvZhuGe" Hua SiGu's faces became subdued, but DuanChangZi and Jin BuHuan's expression still did not change.

    The tall old man sighed painfully and said, "It was the end of November then, and it was snowing already. The Wulin heroes were so busy trying to reach HengShan before anyone else that even if they saw the dead bodies of their family and friends along the road, no one unmounted from their horses to bury them, allowing the bodies to become swallowed by the snow. Only afterwards did I(laokua) find out that the number of top Wulin martial artists who died on the road to HengShan numbered more than one hundred and eighty. Included in them were three people who were already religious heads. This situation made a name for one person who sacrificed his precious time and buried the bodies one by one."

    Xu RuoYu interrupted, "Was this person known as 'Wan Jia Sheng Fo' Cai YuGuan?"

    The tall old man said, "That's right....Xu-shaoxia knows his information."

    Xu RuoYu looked pleased and said, "I(zaixia) heard from my master that this Cai-daxia conducted himself justly and morally. Everyone in the Wulin admired him, but unfortunately died in the HengShan tragedy as well. His death was tragic, his face was wounded by the most poisonous hidden weapon in the world 'Tian Yun Wu Hua Mian' and it became bloated and rotten....Aye! Heaven has no eyes and let us younger generation take note." Having been called very knowledgeable, he babbled everything he knew in the hope that the tall old man would praise him again, so even as he sighed dramatically, his expression remained pleased.

    But the tall old man didn't say anything, and the expression on his face was either worried or angry. After a while, he said slowly, "At that time, any Wulin hero with common sense knew that just by oneself, it was impossible to get the real treasure in that situation, so they formed secret unions. Those more cunning turned them against each other, and even those who cared little for reputation and money became involved for the sakes of their brothers or friends." He paused, and then added, "Because there are some immoral people who wanted to take it in order to rule the world, the more heroic of them were worried that these immoral people would take the treasure, and disrupt the world. Even though each person had a different purpose for their search, every one of them wanted it for themselves. Within three days, around two hundred Wulin heroes gathered atop HengShan HuiYanFeng, and they were all the top fighters in the world because if they were any less, they either died on the way or saw the difficult and left."

    The old man did not only simplify the matter, but articulated in such a way to move them. He continued, "This group of Wulin fighters came from every corner of China. Included were the heads of the seven main clans, even those who had washed their hands of sins, or those who taken up hermitage were there. The two hundred people formed twenty six groups and began a terrifying fight that lasted for nineteen days."

    Bleakly, he sighed and said, "In that nineteen days, HengShan HuiYanFeng was surrounded by sword auras, and all bird life had disappeared. No matter who you were, or how advanced your skills, as long as you were atop HuiYanFeng, you had no moment of peace, because everywhere around you were strong enemies, there were dangers everywhere. For every person, they were perpetually on the line between life and death. Ever since 'Zhong Zhou Jian Ke' was ambushed when he was eating, and 'Wan Sheng Dao' Xu-laobiaotou lost his head when he was sleeping, everyone became even more strained, and even eating and sleeping became an extremely dangerous action.....The continuous days of slaughter, and the added psychological pressure made everyone lose their sanity. Even those who were normally polite became a violent beast that cared for no one. The head of HengShanPai Yu XuanZi did not eat or drink for five days, and after killing his sixth opponent, became the first to lose his mind. He killed the only best friend in his life - ShiQi-daoren - and then jumped over a cliff, leaving behind no trace of his body." There was a sudden 'clang' as Hua SiGu's hands shook so much the wine cup in her hand fell to the ground. Everyone was stunned by the story and all changed colour. The old man lowered his eyelids and slowly continued, "After this nineteen days of battling, only eleven people remained of the two hundred who gathered on HuiYanFeng. All eleven were internally injured and their wugong will never be able to recover to the state it had been. The best of Wulin had all died in this horror. In the last five hundred years, all the fighting and slaughter in the world was incomparable to the scale this one became." As he said so, two tears seeped out of his tightly closed eyes. In fact this old man had been known as "Bu Bai Shen Jian" Li ChangQing, him and the sickly old man "Tian Ji Di Ling, Ren Zhong Zhi Jie" Qi Zhi, also the bearded old man "Qi Tun Dou Niu" Lian TianYun were sworn brothers. All were survivors from HengSan. Even now, they still wept upon recalling the tragic sight.

    The hall was silent for a long while, and Li ChangQing said slowly, "The worst and most painful part of it is that the entire thing was just a lie. I and Qi Zhi Qi-dage, Lian TianYun Lian-sandi, Shaolin's HongFa-dashi, WuDang's TianXuan-daozhang, and the famous hero 'Jiu Zhou Wang' Shen TianJun finally reached HuiYanFeng's hidden treasure place. By the time all six of us were at the end of our tether and combining our strength, we finally removed the huge boulder in front of the secret cave, and the cave was empty. The only thing there was five words written in red paint on the walls 'You had all been tricked'....." Even though it had happened so many years ago, his voice shook as he said these five words. He tipped back his head and breathed deeply, before continuing. "When the six of us saw the words on the wall - except for Qi-dage - all fainted from anger and shock. When we woke up we realised that Shen-daxia and Shaolin's HongFa-dashi had...had died in the cave.....The grief had been too much for the two of them, then they remembered the Wulin friends who died for this, they were overwhelmed with self-recrimination and killed themselves by hitting their head on the wall. WuDang's TianXuan-daozhang's injuries were the heaviest and struggled back to the temple, but the wounds were untreatable. Only the us three brothers....us three brothers...stole to live until today..." His voice broke and he couldn't continue.

    Everyone had heard rumours already and knew the ending to this story, but the retelling still shook them. Even the shabby youth lowered his head.

    "XiongShi" Qiao Wu suddenly clapped his hand on the desk and said, "Life and death is natural, but there is a difference of importance. Li-laoqianbei's life can be said to be as heavy as TaiShan, how can you be compared to cowards. If Li-laoqianbei had died in HengShan, where would 'Virtue Manor' be today!"

    Li ChangQing sighed bleakly and said, "In the battle at HengShan, even though both the good and underworld sides bore losses, nineteen second best fighters of the good side died. The underworld people were more cunning and when they saw the difficulty, they left, so their casualties were less. If the balance of Wulin were changed because of this, our sins would be heavy, so Qi-dage created this reward system in order to cut down criminals. This way it encourages young heroes to rise and also let the greedy underworld people kill each other for the money."

    Hua SiGu sighed and said, "Qi-laoqianbei is such the cleverest person in Wulin."

    Li ChangQing said, "Unfortunately this move needed an enormous amount of funding. Even though us brothers asked for charities from everywhere, and the remaining heroes were very generous, the number was still limiting. Then it was all thanks to the descendent 'Jiu Zhou Wang' Shen-daxia, who sent Shen-daxia's entire wealth over. The wealth was unaccountable, the entire generosity of this action is insurpassable in history."

    "Xiong Shi" Qiao Wu applauded, "Shen-daxia is famous, but his descendent is equally as generous. Where is this person? I(Qiao-mou) want to befriend him."

    Li ChangQing sighed, "Us brothers also asked the person who brought the money where Shen-gongzi was, so that we could thank him face to face, but that person said after Shen-gongzi unloaded his wealth, he became a lone wanderer. Most admirably, the Shen-gongzi of then was at most a ten-year-old child, but who had already possessed such kindness and charity."

    "Hua Shan Yu Nv" Liu YuRu sighed heartily and said, "If a girl could marry such a youth, life would be worth living..."

    "Yu Mian Yao Qin Shen Jian Shou" Xu RuoYu said coldly, "Young heroes who are honest and respectable are not limited to that Shen-gongzi."

    Liu YuRu shot him a cold look and asked, "You think you're one too?"

    The shabby youth smiled and replied for him, "Of course Xu-xiong is one."

    Xu RuoYu snapped angrily, "You're not worthy of calling me brother."

    The shabby youth laughed and said, "Yes yes, I'm sorry....."

    Liu YuRu glanced at the shabby youth and sneered disdainfully, "Such a useless man, what a shame to all men." Her voice was full of contempt.

    The shabby youth pretended not to hear. "Xiong Shi" Qiao Wu scowled, as though ready to speak up again while Hua SiGu watched the shabby youth, her eyes full of praise.

    Before anyone else spoke, Li ChangQing cleared his throat and said, "Us brothers have been master of 'Virtue Manor' for nine years already. These nine years, we've been met with invaders at least a hundred times. Us brothers have lost nine-tenths of our wugong, and if it weren't for our faithful friends the Leng brothers, 'Virtue Manor' would probably be gone already. The reward money 'Virtue Manor' had spent is well over a hundred thousand ounces, but the original gold remains yet untouched. This is all thanks to LengEr's good management. He spends the entire year running around and the collected interest is enough for living costs. These three brothers are very loyal, they are not after name or money, but for 'Virtue Manor' to enjoy its fame today, it is all thanks to these three brothers. Us three brothers are just taking advantage of their goodness, it is quite shameful."

    Liu YuRu smiled and said, "Li-laoqianbei is too modest. What was it that made you(laorenjia) ask us(wanbei) here today?"

    Li ChangQing said in a low voice, "Even though HengShan's treasure was a prank, but after HengShan, there remains a stunning wealth."

    Jin BuHuan's eyes widened and he asked, "What wealth?"

    Li ChangQing said, "The two hundred fighters who reached HuiYanFeng were all those who had been famous for many years. Their wugong each had their strengths. These people knew that there was very little chance of survival and was afraid that their wugong would then be lost, so they left behind their secret techniques and heirlooms. Some of these people either had no disciples, or their disciples had already died, or their disciples weren't with them, so it became a dilemma who they were going to give the heirlooms to. In the end they could only bury the heirlooms in a secret place and if they could not reclaim it, it was up to fate....About this time, that 'Wan Jia Sheng Fo' Cai YuGuan was just at the height of his fame. Everyone praised his actions as heroic, and his heart as kind as a Buddha's. Cai YuGuan normally cared little for money but loved to make friends, so most famous heroes in Wulin knew him, so when people were burying their heirlooms, no one avoided him. Some even told him where it was buried, and if they died, it was left up to him."

    Li ChangQing sighed and continued, "After HengShan, within the eleven who survived, there were seven who had asked Cai YuGuan to look to their things, but since they were alive, they were obviously going to reclaim them. But at each hidden spot, their secret techniques and treasures were all gone, replaced by a small paper slip that also said: 'You have all been tricked'."

    No one had yet heard this story that had occurred after HengSan, and they were all stunned. Xu RuoYu said, "But....Cai-qianbei already died by poison....."

    Li ChangQing said, "No one saw for themselves Cai YuGuan's death, and no one knew if he had swapped his clothes onto someone else's body. Besides, my Qi-dage studied the print of the five words 'You have all been tricked' and concluded that it was exactly the same as Cai YuGuan's writing. The rumour 'HuiYanFeng has WuDi's treasure' had also originated from Cai YuGuan's own mouth. These Wulin fighters all trusted Cai YuGuan enormously, so they spread the news, and other people also trusted these fighters, and that was how the rumour spread so far and became so real." Bitterness began to show on his face. "It was a carefully plotted plan that not only destroyed all the best fighters in Wulin in one go, allowing him to become the best, but also let the famous wugong techniques in Wulin become lost, destroying the level of competence in Wulin. He himself received the secret techniques of so many people and could select the best from each. By then, if he attempted to conquer the world, no one could stop him. These few years he had not appeared because he must be studying the secrets of each different house of wugong, and now, it is time for his return."

    Everyone felt the chill in their bones and no one dared open their mouth to speak.

    After a long silence, the TianFa-dashi from WuTai finally said slowly, "If it was really like that, this man would be rightfully called the first real evil person in centuries. Yet though these events are beyond doubt, we cannot prove that they were committed by Cai-mou, I wonder if Li-laoqianbei would agree?" His speech was unhurried but loud as a cymbal, and his analysis of events was just. He was undeniably the best monk in Wulin ever since ShaoLin's HongFa-dashi passed away, with a fame long surpassing that of ShaoLin's current leader, RenXin-dashi.

    Li ChangQing sighed in agreement, "Dashi speaks well, speaks well. This was the reason we invited everyone here.....three years later we suddenly discovered the presence of a new stranger beyond YuMenGuan. The movements of his person was not only erratic, his moral orientation undecided, but the most conspicuous characteristic was that this person possessed the essence of all different wugong sects. Every fight he uses techniques from a number of different sects. Someone once witnessed him using the unpublicised techniques from WuDang, ShaoLin, EMei, KongTong and KunLun - techniques that even the heads of these sects have never been taught.

    Everyone swapped shocked glances.

    Li ChangQing continued, "Also, his indulgent extravagance is unmatched in the world. He brings with him more than hundreds of men every outing, and the amount he spends each day totals over thousands of ounces of white silver. No one knows his name or background, and no one knows where he settles, but only that he had begun by gathering criminals in BianJiang. Now that his power had grown, he has slowly invaded towards ZhongYuan with the likelihood to dominate the world."

    Xu RuoYu blurted, "Could this person be Cai YuGuan?"

    Li ChangQing sighed, "As soon as this person appeared, my Qi-dage already suspected him as Cai YuGuan and immediately sent people to track his movements, as well as sending people to all over the world to gather information on Cai YuGuan's background. The more the three of us read ofCai YuGuan's history, the more we found this person suspicious and frightening."

    WuFa-dashi mused, "That is correct, all the heroes in the world know the reputation of 'Wan jia sheng fo' Cai YuGuan, but no one knows anything of his history before he made that name."

    Xu RuoYu took over and said, "Does he have some hidden secrets surrounding his name?"

    Li ChangQing dropped his voice and said, "Us brothers wasted five hundred thousand, moved thousand of people and finally outlined his background. We had just recorded all the information, so everyone please have a look before you discuss it." He hung the rolled paper in his hand on the wall, but his eyes remained fixed on the doors and windows in obvious guard against any unwelcome guests from entering. At this time, another child entered with eight sets of brushes and papers, and TianFa-dashi and the rest each took a set.

    There were two sides to the paper and it was only about three metres wide. It looked similar to the portraits hung in rich homes, but it was filled thickly with writing. The left paper read, "Name: Cai Liang before age twenty, twenty to twenty-six named Cai YingMing, twenty six to thirty-seven named Cai Li, after thirty six named Cai YuGuan.

    "Origins: Father named Cai YiPing, a wealthy man in EZhong; mother named Li XiaoCui, the seventh concubine of Cai YiPing; sixteen brothers, Cai YuGuan ranked sixteenth; ingenious when young, good at imitating the speech of others and learning different dialects and accents; after he made his name he said he was from ZhongZhou, and everyone believed him. At age fourteen, the thirty something people in his home suddenly all died over one night. After receiving the vast wealth, he spent his days with gangsters 'Yuan Yang Hu Die Pai' and lost all his money in three years, after which Cai YuGuan left home to become a monk.

    "Sect: At seventeen he joined ShaoLin and became a kitchen monk, but was expelled due to learning wugong without permission. At age twenty he joined "Shi Er Lian Huan Wu" and used his tact to gain the favour of "Tian Nan Yi Jian" Shi SongShou, who accepted him under his sect. After six years of learning, Cai YuGuan had an affair with the favourite concubine of "Tian Nan Yi Jian", Jin Yan, and eloped with all of Shi SongShou's wealth. In rage, Shi SongShou sent all of his disciples after him and Cai YuGuan was forced to leave for beyond the pass. He presented Jin Yan to 'Lecher' QiXinWeng as a present for acceptance and learnt 'QiXinPai's wugong within ten years, after which time QiXinWeng died of unknown causes. Cai YuGuan returned to ZhongYuan and presented himself as a moralistic and righteous hero, first combining all heroes to sweep clean "Shi Er Lian Huan Wu", then reconstructed "Tian Nan Yi Jian" and immediately became famous.

    "Appearance: This man has a face as white as jade; his eyebrows and eyes droop slightly; eagle-like hooked nose; thick lips on both sides of which are black moles; between his brows is a growth; likes dressing; prefers tailored tight clothes that reveal his graceful build; moreover prefers purple. Elegant hands, as white as a woman's hands; gold ring on middle finger; likes to gesture during speech to show off the clean elegance of his hands.

    "Hobbies: large tolerance for wine, particularly likes a mix of strong wines such as DaQu, MaoTai, GaoLiang and ZhuYeQing; complemented by snails, crickets or snakes cooked to medium rare; doesn't like pork - never passes his mouth; fine riding skills, often goes on wild rides with horses, to the point of whipping the horse to death; likes gambling, never cheats on gambles so that it is more exciting; likes hunting; especially like beautiful women; lustful; not happy if sleeping with less than two women.

    "Special characteristics: eloquent speaker, sensitive; all famous heroes like associating with him; often smiling while speaking; must wash hands clean after killing; discards any weapon dirtied by blood; skilled at calligraphy, takes after the two Wang's, especially well-imitated." (*NB: The two Wang's - Wang XiZhi and his son Wang XianZhi were famous calligraphy artists of the Jin dynasty)

    This paper succinctly summarised Cai YuGuan's entire life, a life so colourful and full of wicked charm, everyone paled in dread. On the paper on the right was written, "Name: beyond YuMenGuan he is called 'Happy King', real name unknown.

    "Origin: Unknown.

    "Sect: Unknown, yet knows unpublicised techniques of all different sects.

    "Appearance: pale faced, drooping brows and eyes, long beard, hooked nose as eagle, a scar between brows, likes dressing, employs people to care for his beard and hair everyday, tall graceful build, studied dress sense, extremely extravagant, when speaking likes to stroke beard, beard and hand are both beautiful, on the middle finger of left hand are three gold rings, seem to be useable as hidden weapon.

    "Hobbies: extremely good tolerance, likes exotic foods, does not touch pork, often surrounded by beautiful women, often invites wealthy guests for gambling.

    "Special characteristics: articulate and gracious, generous and accomodating; uses over thousands of gold per day, meticulous about cleanliness, if any guest shows any filthiness they are forced out; accompanying him is Swift Wind 36 Riders, all handsome youths with fine riding skills, uses long swords with only thirteen techniques, but techniques are queer and ruthless; few famous top Wulin fighters can escape under these thirteen techniques.

    "Also four main heralds for wine, lust, wealth and mood are the trusted men of 'Happy King', but are rarely by his side because each of the four have specialised duties. Wine herald searches for good wine; lust herald selects beauties from all over the world; wealth herald manages and collects wealth for him; only the mood herald remains by his side. When anyone is impolite towards 'Happy King', the mood herald immediately draws his sword to cut off this person's head. These four are all strange characters, their wugong is deep beyond gauging."

    After viewing this paper, everyone became all the more speechless.

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

    Expect some hiatus soon ^^;

  15. #15
    Senior Member Omniflame's Avatar
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    Great job. I look forward to your next update.

  16. #16
    Senior Member Goofy's Avatar
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    Cool

    the first part of the post sounds like the Survivor game.

    My insights on Cai:

    1. don't eat pork = Islam???
    2. Love women and afraid of dirt = half dfbb?



    More please.
    "History's third dimension is always fiction."
    -- The Glass Bead Game, Hermann Hesse

  17. #17
    Senior Member TigerWong's Avatar
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    Noodles: What do you mean once in 3 months! I last updated in July which is still this month. Unfortunately, a lot of things are going on right now, so I can't say how often I will update. But I still plan to. Anyway, I do appreciate people enjoying the stories and there are plenty of others to keep you guys occupied.

    Luna_Rainbow: Woohoo! You are awesome for translating this one! Here comes Shen Lang...

  18. #18
    Senior Member Han Solo's Avatar
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    Thanks for this translation Luna_Rainbow, i had always been interested in knowing more about Shen Lang and gang etc esp also about conditons predating Chu Liu Xiang in Gl's universe.

  19. #19
    Senior Member TigerWong's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Han Solo
    Thanks for this translation Luna_Rainbow, i had always been interested in knowing more about Shen Lang and gang etc esp also about conditons predating Chu Liu Xiang in Gl's universe.
    I think you mean this being the prequel to Dagger Lee. Some stories predating Chu Liu Xiang are Legend of the Big Flag Hero and Sword/Exquisiteness.

  20. #20
    Senior Member Han Solo's Avatar
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    So the "happy king" in this novel is not the teachers of CLX?

    And is Shen Lang being the biological parent of Ah Fei?

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