The Deer and The Cauldron

[KChill]

Foxs....it's good to come back and see that your translation kung fu is still without equal!Question for you....do you think this peasant gardener has some training in the Dugu NineSwords that Linghu Chong used in SPW? Sure sounds like it to me?

[crazee]

Well, Well what is love ? Why is it so powerful that it can cause one to do do horrors to their own people, give up a kingdom and etc etc....
We see classical love or infatuation for beautiful women....

Thanks Foxs... was away from work for 2 days so no chance to read the postings.
Now that I'm back I get to read up.....

[Single Whip]

Thanks Fox. I wonder if this Hu Yizhi is the ancestor of Hu Yidao and Hu Fei in the Flying Fox story. They are famous for the Hu's family sabre skill.

[Han Solo]

Hi foxs,

The other translations seems to be updated on a regular basis, and each translator's work greatly appreciated as always.

Han Solo

[tweety365]

Thanks Fox. I wonder if this Hu Yizhi is the ancestor of Hu Yidao and Hu Fei in the Flying Fox story. They are famous for the Hu's family sabre skill.

I don't think so. If my memory is correct, HYD and HF's ancestor was one of the 4 bodyguards of Li Zicheng.

[sablemagi]

Thanks Foxs... was away from work for 2 days so no chance to read the postings.
Now that I'm back I get to read up.....

LOL. this is funny.

[foxs]

Han, it never crossed my mind to belittle or make any disparaging remark about other translators in this forum. In fact, I always thought that I am a half-baked translator. Definitely everybody else is better, since I really am Chinese illiterate. If I offended anybody, please accept my deepest apology.

Muliono, Soifuron, you are welcome, thank you for the compliment. Smurf, it was not love, was it? Sablemagi, I did not even know you were gone ... , I thought you posted something last week. Ali, thanks for the well-wish. Anh, that was not my thought. See my response to Han above. But I am glad you are enjoying it. KChill, thanks for the compliment, but it was not translation kungfu, it's more like looking at the dictionary and decide how to string the words together. Crazee, why are getting so sentimental all of a sudden? Singlewhip, Tweety, I have not read the book.

---

Hu Yizhi sat down, held his hand, and said, “Xiao Xiongdi, in this world, a matter involving feeling like this cannot be forced. You can meet Ah Ke, and can have Shijie Shidi relationship with her, it was already predestined affinity, not whether you can be husband and wife with her. In all your life, you have already seen her many, many times, you have talked to her many, many times. She beats you, she curses you, she uses blade to stab you, it can be said that in her heart she already has you. This is your share of enormous good fortune.”

Wei Xiaobao nodded, “What you said is very true,” he said, “If she take no notice and ignore me, that means in this world there is no me; this feeling is definitely very unpleasant. I’d rather she curses me and beats me, using blades trying to kill me; as long as she does not kill me, it’s alright with me.”

Hu Yizhi sighed and said, “Even if she killed you, that would be very good. If she killed you, she would inevitably feel a little bit guilty. When she is asleep in the night, perhaps she would dream of you; when she is idling with nothing to do during the day, she would occasionally be thinking of you. Don’t you agree that it surpasses the thought that she has never had you in her heart?”

Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing looked at each other in amazement; they both thought that this man had brought the word ‘sentimental’ to its extreme. If not for the fact that they had witnessed his battle against Feng Xifan just now, that they had also seen his martial art skill, which had reached perfection, they would have not believed that this man was the distinguished and accomplished, the elegant ‘Handsome Saber King’, whose name was well-known in the four seas.

Wei Xiaobao was nodding his head again and again, however, as he said, “Hu Dage, indeed you cannot say those words more clearly than that. I had not thought about it before, but when I like a woman, I am determined to make her my wife; I don’t have patience like yours. If Ah Ke really wants me to grow vegetables and fetch water, if she wants me to accompany her for a lifetime, naturally I would do it. But if that Zheng Gongzi is also by her side, laozi will stab him with the knife that a white blade came in, a red blade came out.”

“Xiao Xiongdi,” Hu Yizhi said, “What you said is not exactly correct. If you like a woman, you must make her happy, for her sake, not for yours. If she wanted to marry that Zheng Gongzi, then you should help her accomplish her heart’s desire by ‘thousand ways, a hundred plans’. If someone is going to harm Zheng Gongzi, for the sake of your beloved, you ought to protect Zheng Gongzi with all your strength; even if you have to deliver your life in the process, you must not harm the essentials [?? Not sure].”

Wei Xiaobao shook his head and said, “I am afraid I must harm the essentials. Doing business and suffer a loss, Xiongdi is not willing to do. Hu Dage, Xiongdi admires you very much, I really want to bow to you and take you as my master. Not to learn your saber technique, but to learn about your infatuation toward Chen Yuanyuan. This kind of skill, Xiongdi is far inferior to you.”

Hu Yizhi was greatly delighted. “Bowing and taking me as your master is not necessary, but there is no harm in the two of us brothers compare notes and encourage each other.”

Both Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing have never had any regards for women, they thought that the joy houses had no lack of pretty women, as long as they produced white, shiny silver, they could get however many they wanted. It seemed to them that Hu and Wei, these two fellows, had lost their minds and went insane. But the more Hu and Wei, one was old the other young, talked to each other, the more they found out that they shared much in common, they both felt regret of not meeting each other earlier.

Actually, Wei Xiaobao’s desire to take Ah Ke as his wife was a firm resolution, he was determined to overcome countless difficulties, and was willing to undergo any hardship to the end; it was completely different from Hu Yizhi’s infatuation. One was passionately devoted to Chen Yuanyuan, the other was set on possessing Chen Yuanyuan’s daughter. Although their aspirations differed, they found some common ground in this matter. Besides, Hu Yizhi had already concealed this affection in his heart for twenty-three years, he had never revealed it to anyone else. This moment he freely poured out his heart, unexpectedly there was someone nearby who sighed in admiration. Able to ramble on incessantly, the delight in his heart was unspeakable.

Seeing Hu and Wei, two people were chatting amiably, Ma Chaoxing felt it was inappropriate to break the two people’s moods. At first he was still listening to their conversation, but as time went by, he felt it was growing more offensive. Both he and Wu Liuqi frowned secretly, they thought, “Wei Xiangzhu is a little child who does not understand anything, nothing we can do about it. You, Hu Yizhi, is old but do not show respect of your seniority, teaching this youngster bad things.” They could not stop the disdain in their hearts to grow several points.

“Xiao Xiongdi,” suddenly Hu Yizhi said, “You and I feel like old friends at the first meeting. The one hardest to come by in this life is an intimate friend. As the saying goes, ‘Finding a good friend, dying will have no regret’. The Ol’ Hu used to have acquaintances all over the world, but not one person knew me intimately. Today we are brought together by fate, how about the two of us swear brotherhood?”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. “That is very good,” he said; but suddenly he hesitated. “I am afraid there is something that is not proper,” he said.

“What is it?” Hu Yizhi asked.

Wei Xiaobao said, “In case you and I both accomplish our hearts’ desire, you marry Chen Yuanyuan, and I marry Ah Ke, you will be my wife’s father. If we become brothers now, it won’t be appropriate later.”

As soon as Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing heard this, they could not help but bursting into loud laughter. Hu Yizhi’s countenance changed, “Ay,” he said indignantly, “You never understand my affection toward Miss Chen. In all my life, I will never raise a finger to touch the corner of her clothes. If I am speaking empty words, let me be like this table.” While saying that, he reached out with his left hand, ‘crack!’ he grabbed a corner of the small table inside the boat’s cabin, and rubbed it between his hands, the piece of wood turned into splinters, which rained down to the floor.

“Good martial art skill!” Wu Liuqi praised.

Hu Yizhi cast him an angry look; he thought, “What’s so good about my martial art skill? My deep love is what’s considered rare. Obviously you are not my intimate friend.”

Wei Xiaobao did not have the ability to copy him grabbing the wood and turning it into dust; he pulled his dagger and lightly cut the other corner of the table, put it on the table, raised the dagger, and conveniently chopped it several times, turning the wood into several small pieces. He said, “If Wei Xiaobao cannot marry Ah Ke to be my wife, let me be like the corner of this tea table, cut by other people into eight pieces, without able to retaliate.”

When the others saw the sharpness of this dagger, they were all amazed, but listening to his oath, they were all amused. Wei Xiaobao said, “Hu Dage, in that case, in all my life I won’t be your son-in-law; let’s swear to be brothers then.”

Hu Yizhi laughed heartily. He pulled Wei Xiaobao’s hands to the bow, took him kneeling down side by side toward the moon, and said, “Hu Yizhi today swear to be brothers with Wei Xiaobao. Hereafter blessing will be enjoyed together, difficulties will be faced together. If I violate this oath, let me be drowned in the river.”

Wei Xiaobao repeated the oath, but on the last sentence, he changed it to ‘let me be drowned in this Liujiang River’. He thought, “Definitely I will never betray Hu Dage, but if by any chance I commit a mistake, from now on I won’t come back to Guangxi, hence I won’t be drown in this Liujiang River. If it was any other river, it does not count.”

The two of them laughed aloud, and returned to the cabin hand-in-hand; they looked very intimate to each other already. Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing congratulated the two, the four of them made a toast and drank together. Wu Liuqi was afraid that if these two lovesick sworn brothers would talk about Chen Yuanyuan and Ah Ke again, he would be sick of listening to them, thereupon he said, “Let’s go back.”

Hu Yizhi nodded his head. “Very well,” he said, “Ma Xiong, Wei Xiongdi, I have a request: I want to bring this Miss Ah Ke back to Kunming.”

Ma Chaoxing did not care. Wei Xiaobao, however, was greatly shocked. “Whatever for?” he busily asked.

Hu Yizhi sighed and said, “That day when Miss Chen saw her daughter for the first time at the Three-Sage Nunnery, that very same night she fell ill. She only called, ‘Ah Ke, Ah Ke, why haven’t you come to see your mother?’ She also said, ‘Ah Ke, mother only have you, my darling, my precious; mother misses you very much.’ I could not endure listening to her, hence I hurried along to catch up with you. Along the way I painstakingly persuaded Miss Ah Ke to come back, to accompany her mother, but no matter what she flatly refused. This matter cannot be forced; my hands are bound and I am unable to do anything. My only choice was to follow her in secret; my only hope is to persuade her to change her mind. Now she has fallen into your hands, if Ma Xiangzhu wants her to promise that she returns to Kunming to see her mother before you can release her, perhaps she won’t have any choice but to comply.”

Ma Chaoxing said, “In this matter Zaixia does not have any objection; I’ll leave it to Wei Xiangzhu’s discretion.”

“Xiongdi,” Hu Yizhi said, “You want to take her as your wife, there will be enough time to do that later, but if Miss Chen does not recover from her illness, she may not see her daughter anymore. This … this will be a lifelong regret.” While speaking the last sentence, his voice broke.

Wu Liuqi shook his head secretly; he thought, “This man’s heroic spirit has worn down completely, and turned into a fainthearted man. For the sake of Wu Sangui’s beloved concubine unexpectedly his spirit and soul have turned upside-down like this; where has the lofty quality of a hero and warrior gone? Chen Yuanyuan is one of the chief offenders who forfeited the Great Ming’s rivers and mountains; next time laozi leads my troops to invade Kunming, I will stab her with a knife first.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Dage wants to take her to Kunming, of course you can. But … but let me be honest with Dage: she and I have been officially wed, we have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth long ago, acting as the matchmaker was Mu Family’s Shaking-head Lion Wu Lishen. Unfortunately my wife is unwilling to get married with me, she wants to remarry that Zheng Gongzi. If she agrees to be husband and wife with me, naturally we can let her go.”

Listening to this point, Wu Liuqi flew into a rage; he could not endure patiently anymore. Raising his palm he slapped the small table heavily, all the wine pot and cups were overthrown. “Hu Dage, Wei Xiongdi,” he said in loud voice, “This little girl is unwilling to see her mother; she greatly violates filial piety. She and Wei Xiongdi have bowed to the Heaven and the Earth, and thus they are bound in marriage contract as husband and wife, yet she still wants that Zheng Gongzi, she greatly violates chastity. This kind of unfilial and unchaste woman, why should we let her live in the world? The more beautiful her appearance, the worse her moral quality is. I might as well go and wring her neck, ‘crack!’ and be done with it, so that those who hear it won’t be annoyed, those who see it won’t be provoked to anger.” With a stern voice he ordered the boatmen, “Row faster, row faster!”

Hu Yizhi, Wei Xiaobao and Ma Chaoxing, three people looked at each other with changed countenance. They saw his awe-inspiring presence, his scathing murderous intent, the blue veins on his forehead were bulging; obviously he was extremely angry, who would dare to persuade him?

Their boat gradually approached the river bank. Wu Liuqi called out, “Where are those boy and girl?”

“They are bound in here,” someone on another boat replied.

Wu Liuqi signaled the boatmen, their boat turned easterly toward the other boat. Wu Liuqi said to Wei Xiaobao, “Wei Xiongdi, you and I are brothers of the same Society, we are as close as flesh and blood brothers. As your Gege, I cannot bear to see you making mistake because of woman’s charm, and thus you ruin your life. Today I am going to break it for you.”

With a trembling voice Wei Xiaobao said, “This matter … must be … must be discussed carefully.”

“What is there to discuss?” Wu Liuqi said in a stern voice.

The two boats were getting close to each other. Wei Xiaobao was very anxious as if he was burning inside, he had no choice but to turn to mc to appeal for help, “Ma Dage, please persuade Wu Dage.”

“There are a lot of good women in the world,” Wu Liuqi said, “Your Gege will guarantee that I will find you a wife from an agreeable home to your satisfaction. Why do you reluctant to part with this kind of lowly woman?”

Wei Xiaobao looked distressed. “Ay, this … this …” he said.

Suddenly, ‘whoosh!’ someone leaped up toward the bow of the opposite boat; it was Hu Yizhi. They saw him entering the cabin, and went out from the stern; there was someone in his arms. His movement was extremely fast and nimble, immediately he leaped onto the shore, and then with several ups and downs he was already several dozen zhang away. His voice came from the distance, “Wu Dage, Ma Dage, Wei Xiongdi, I am really sorry for the offense. Someday I will visit you to beg forgiveness and receive punishment.” His voice gradually went far away, but because of his abundant chi, it could still be heard clearly.

Wu Liuqi was startled and angry; he was about to jump to chase after him, but then he saw that Hu Yizhi was already far away. After thinking better of it, he could not help but roaring in laughter. Wei Xiaobao also clapped his hands and cheered; he presumed that Hu Yizhi took Ah Ke away, naturally he was taking her to see Chen Yuanyuan.

[muliono]

> Definitely everybody else is better, since I really am Chinese illiterate... thanks for the compliment, but it was not translation kungfu, it's more like looking at the dictionary and decide how to string the words together.

WHOOAAAA!!! That is mind blowing man! Outstanding!! I don't know how you can do something like that and produce a work this great. Foxs, you're the man!!

[Anh Nam]

Thanks Foxs
I appreciate all of the translators work. You just happen to have more time and that may not last forever. I hope it lasts until the end of this book.

[aliderhamy]

HAO

good work foxs... I enjoyed this update heaps.

(the many many many thanks are unsaid but there non the less)

[crazee]

Eh? Foxs ...me sentimental ? Well if you continue I'll start singing and the crows will come home heh heh heh.
Well honestly, I like the way you do the translation. Good or bad .... well it suits me and I like it and I suppose that's the essence for good translation....your reader understands and is comfy with it.
I've read some other translations....imagine calling Xiao Bao....trinklet....??? no I don't like that, or father burnwood ?? somehow or rather it's not right.....
I suppose I do not have any right to comment on translators as I am unable to translate even a simple passage so well, I can only say I feel good reading your translation but sometimes do not enjoy a translation that much...maybe it's the translation or it can be the story is dry or the writing style of the writer is no good....

Well even though Lu Ding Ji is not a literal wuxia novel we see quite a number of superb kung fu masters in the story.

Thanks foxs....

err...sablemagi....was away from work (sick) and did not have the company's notebook with me so cannot surf net.... hope that clarifies...err of course I read at work ( don't tell my boss pls )

[SkyWalker]

Thanks foxs for all the great updates! So glad I can access this site in China.

[foxs]

Muliono, thanks for the compliment. Anh, are you implying I don't have a life? I think you are right, I should have picked different hobby. But don't worry, the Lord's willing, I am going to finish this novel. Ali, thanks. Sincerely. Crazee, I was referring to your 'what is love' comment ... :P Sky, how was the trip? The baby alright? How long is your vacation?

New chapter.

---

Chapter 34 – Rise and fall of a document to take care of restoring the deer, thousand years of ash to take the great wild goose from the deep by force.
(Translated by Foxs)

Shortly afterwards the two boats drew close to each other. The Tian Di Hui brothers pushed Zheng Keshuang out.

“His granny,” Wei Xiaobao cursed, “You murdered Tian Di Hui brothers, and wanted to harm Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu; I must cut your chest and open your belly. Hot piece mama, you know very well that Ah Ke is my wife, yet you dare to fool around with her.” While saying that, he stepped closer and ‘slap, slap, slap, slap’, he slapped him on the face from left and right four times.

Zheng Keshuang had drunk a lot of river water, he had lost the will to resist; seeing Wei Xiaobao’s devilish appearance, he begged, “Wei Daren, please consider my father’s face and spare my life. From this day forward, I … I will no longer dare to speak one sentence to Miss Ah Ke.”

“What if she speaks to you?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

“I will not reply,” Zheng Keshuang said, “Otherwise … otherwise …” Whatever it was, momentarily he was not able to decide.

“You speak like you fart,” Wei Xiaobao said, “I’d better cut your tongue first, so that even when you want to speak to Ah Ke, you won’t be able to.” While saying that, he pulled his dagger, and then shouted, “Stick out your tongue!”

Zheng Keshuang was greatly alarmed. He hastily said, “I won’t speak with her; if I speak even one word, I am a scoundrel b@stard.”

Wei Xiaobao was afraid Chen Jinnan might punish him, hence did not really dare to kill Zheng Keshuang. “In the future, if you ever be rude to Tian Di Hui Zongduozhu and brothers later, if you ever dare do some dubious thing to my wife, thinking to make a green hat for laozi to wear, laozi will insert a sword into your adulterer head.” He raised the dagger and lightly tossed it forward. The dagger went straight into the bow of the boat.

“I don’t dare, I don’t dare,” Zheng Keshuang hastily said, “I will not dare to do that anymore.”

Wei Xiaobao turned his head toward Ma Chaoxing and said, “Ma Dage, it was your Latter Family Hall who caught him, please deal with him.”

Ma Chaoxing sighed and said, “Guoxing Ye [Koxinga, lit. ‘Master of Guoxing’] is such a hero, his grandson is actually a good-for-nothing kid.”

Wu Liuqi said, “When this man returns to Taiwan, he would surely make things difficult for Zongduozhu, we’d better cut him into two, then I guarantee we won’t have any future trouble.”

Zheng Keshuang was greatly alarmed. “No, it won’t happen,” he busily said, “When I return to Taiwan, I will ask my father to make Chen Yonghua, Mr. Chen an officer, a very high-ranking officer.”

“Humph,” Ma Chaoxing snorted, “Do you think Zongduozhu will like that?” Lowering his voice, he said to Wu Liuqi, “This man is Zheng Wangye’s son; if we kill him, I am afraid the charge of ‘killing the master’ will fall upon Zongduozhu.”

Tian Di Hui was founded by Chen Yonghua under Zheng Chenggong’s [Koxinga’s real name] order. Chen Yonghua was the head of Tian Di Hui, but he was still an officer under the Taiwan’s Yanping Jun Wang. If the Society brothers killed Yanping Jun Wang’s son, although Chen Yonghua was not present, he would not escape responsibility.

Wu Liuqi thought he was right; pulling with both hands, he snapped the ropes binding Zheng Keshuang. Standing him up, Wu Liuqi shouted, “Get lost!” and threw him to the shore. Immediately Zheng Keshuang flew out as if he was soaring over the clouds or riding on the mists, crying out ‘wah, wah’ while still in the air; he must have expected that when he dropped, his muscle would be broken and his bones fractured. Who would have thought that as his butts landed on the ground, he slid over a grassy lawn? Although his body was aching from the shock, he was not injured at all. Quickly he crawled up and ran away. Wu Liuqi and Wei Xiaobao roared in laughter.

Ma Chaoxing said, “This fellow disgraced Guoxing Ye’s face.”

Wu Liuqi asked, “How did this fellow murder our Society brothers and harm our Zongduozhu?”

“It’s a long story,” Wei Xiaobao replied, “Let’s go ashore, Xiongdi will tell Dage in details.” Looking at the horizon, he said, “There are black clouds over there, I am afraid heavy rain is coming; let us come ashore quickly.” A burst of strong wind came, it blew everybody’s clothes that it made rustling noise; they mouths and noses were blown by the wind.

Wu Liuqi said, “This storm will be most likely a big one, let us sail to the middle of the river, we can drink wine and talk in the midst of big wind, big rain; it must be very interesting.”

Wei Xiaobao was shocked; he hastily said, “This little boat may not be able to withstand the wind; if it capsized, won’t it be bad?”

Ma Chaoxing smiled. “No need to worry about that,” he said. Turning his head around, he gave the boatman some orders; the boatman complied, he went to the bow and raised the sail.

By this time the wind was picking up speed, the sail received the full force of the wind, like an arrow the boat sailed to the middle of the river. The waves billowed, the small boat went up and down abruptly, the water from the river splashed into the cabin. Wei Xiaobao bore the nickname ‘little white dragon’ in vain, since he did not have any water skill. While it’s true that he was still ‘little’, and by now his face was ‘white’ from the terror, apparently he had nothing to do with the character ‘dragon’.

Wu Liuqi laughed and said, “Wei Xiongdi, I don’t have any water skill either.”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised. “You can’t swim?” he asked.

Wu Liuqi shook his head, “I never learn,” he said, “As soon as I saw water, I am dizzy and light-headed.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Then … then why did you tell the boat to sail to the middle of the river?”

Wu Liuqi laughed and said, “Everything in the world, the more frightening it is, the more I wanted to try it. The worst that could happen is that the billow will overthrow the boat, then everybody will become Liujiang River ghosts; it’s not such a big deal. Besides, Ma Dage’s nickname is ‘Xijiang Divine Dragon[1]’; how excellent do you think his water skill is? Ma Dage, let us agree in advance: if the boat did capsize, you must rescue Wei Xiongdi first, and then rescue me next.”

Ma Chaoxing laughed. “Alright,” he said, “It’s a deal.” Wei Xiaobao felt slightly better.

Presently the wind and waves were getting stronger, the little boat was tossed around, sometimes it went up more than a zhang into the air, and then suddenly dropped straight down as if the boat was heading to the bottom of the river. Wei Xiaobao was thrown up, and then ‘bang!’ he landed heavily on the cabin’s floor. “My goodness; that was serious!” he cried out in a shrill voice.

The sail made a loud flapping noise, the rain poured down, followed by a burst of gale, blowing the lanterns on the bow and the stern of the boat off; the lantern inside the cabin also went off. Wei Xiaobao cried out again, “Aiyo, not good!” From inside the cabin he peered outside, and saw the surface of the river was white of the surging waves. The wind was strong, the rain heavy; there was grandeur in the power of nature.

“Xiongdi, don’t be afraid,” Ma Chaoxing said, “This storm is indeed violent, I will take the helm.” Walking to the stern, he shouted at the boatman, ordering them to go into the cabin. The storm was usually bad, the two boatmen had just reached the mast when they were blown by the wind that they nearly fell into the river. They held on to the mast tightly and did not dare to let go.

In the big storm, the boat was suddenly blown that it leaned to one side. Wei Xiaobao was thrown to the left; he screamed in terror, while in his heart he cursed, “This is the old beggar’s damned weird idea. You yourself don’t know how to swim, you don’t want to go someplace else to play, yet you are going to this gale and heavy rain on the river to play a joke? The wind is big the rain is big, your Mama’s belly is also big.”

The gale brought torrential rain with it. Burst after burst of rain invaded the cabin. Wei Xiaobao was already drenched from head to toe. Suddenly they heard loud crashing noise, the sail mast broke, the hull leaned to the side. Wei Xiaobao was thrown to the right. ‘Crash!’ his head bumped onto the small table. Suddenly he had a thought, “I have not been unfair to Hu Dage, why should I be drowned to death in Liujiang River today? Aiyo, that’s right, when I made that oath, I was having evil designs in my heart that someday I would cheat on him. Jade Emperor, Yan Wang of the Ten Palace, Guanyin Bodhisattva who helps those in distress, with all sincerity Wei Xiaobao wants to enjoy blessing and endure hardship together with Hu Dage. But what blessing would we enjoy together? If he marry Chen Yuanyuan … could it be that I will also …”

Amidst the wind and the rain, suddenly he heard Wu Liuqi opened his mouth and sang loudly, “Walking to the waterfront, the heart is filled with resentment, but to whom can I talk to? Old tears are blown by the wind, a lone city walls, the eyes piercing the distance hoping for a rescue, exerting all my strength to destroy the troops in bloody battle. Jumping out the tight encirclement, longing with grief of the old country, who knew the song would end leaving the bamboo mat empty? Along the Chang Jiang [Yangzte River], the head in Wu and tail in Chu in three thousand journeys, home exhausted the surname left behind, the rain turns over the cloud changes. Cold wave rolls up to the east, everything is handed over to the smoke in the air. The spirit moves in a prominently big way, the voice pursues the horizon where the sea meets the sky.”

The sound of singing was carried far on the surface of the river; although the wind and the rain were loud, they could not suppress his voice. From the stern Ma Chaoxing did not stop cheering. He called out, “What a good verse! The voice pursues the horizon where the sea meets the sky!”

Listening to him singing fervently, Wei Xiaobao did not understand what he was singing about. He cursed in his heart, “You have such a nice voice, why don’t you go up the stage and become an actor [orig. ‘hua mian’ – flowery/fancy face]? The Old Beggar, with a loud voice calls, ‘Master, Madame, please give alms some leftovers and cold rice’, then you won’t die hungry.”

Suddenly from the distance someone with a clear and resonant voice called out, “Throughout the ages the Southern Dynasties’ words were passed on, grieving heart and tears of blood scattered on mountains and plains.”

The call was coming from a very far distance, yet in the mid of storm it was heard very clearly; obviously that man’s internal energy was very profound. Wei Xiaobao was startled. He heard Ma Chaoxing called out, “Is that Zongduozhu? Xiongdi Ma Chaoxing here.”

“Precisely,” from the other side came the reply, “Is Xiaobao there?” It was indeed Chen Jinnan’s voice.

Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised. “ Shifu,” he called out, “I am here.” But in that storm, how could his voice travel far?

Ma Chaoxing called out, “Wei Xiangzhu is here. We also have Great Obedience Hall’s Red Banner’s Wu Xiangzhu.”

“Wonderful!” Chen Jinnan replied, “No wonder he sang a song on the river, his voice resounding into the clouds.” From his voice it was evident that he was genuinely happy.

Wu Liuqi said, “Subordinate Wu Liuqi pays his respect to Zongduozhu.”

“We are all brothers here,” Chen Jinnan said, “No need to be polite.” His voice sounded closer, the boat he was riding was approaching fast.

The storm had not abated, from inside the cabin Wei Xiaobao looked out, the river was pitch black, with only a dot of light slowly moving on the river’s surface toward them, Chen Jinnan’s boat still had a lantern on it.

After quite a while, the lantern arrived near them. The bow of their boat sank slightly; Chen Jinnan had already jumped onboard. Wei Xiaobao thought, “Shifu is here, this time my little life will be saved.” He rushed toward the cabin entrance, but in the darkness he could not see Chen Jinnan’s face, so he only called out again, “Shifu!”

Chen Jinnan pulled his hand and dragged him back into the cabin. “This storm is really bad,” he said with a laugh, “Are you scared?”

“Not bad,” Wei Xiaobao replied.

Wu Liuqi and Ma Chaoxing also entered the cabin to pay their respect. Chen Jinnan said, “I went into the city, and was told that you went to the river, hence I came to look for you. I did not expect the storm to be this bad. If it were not for Wu Dage singing loudly, I would have never found you.”

Wu Liuqi said, “Subordinate’s spirit was aroused, I was only incurring Zongduozhu’s ridicule through my poor performance.”

Chen Jinnan said, “We, brothers, match each other. The song Wu Dage sang, was it the ‘Sinking in the River’ from the play ‘Peach Blossom Fan’?”

“Precisely,” Wu Liuqi said, “This song was written about the history of Ge Bujing who loyally fought the enemy, and sacrificed himself by drowning in the river. Xiongdi usually love to listen to this song the most. This time the storm flared up on the river, I could not stop myself from singing it.”

“You sang very well,” Chen Jinnan praised, “Indeed very good.”

Wei Xiaobao mused, “Turns out this song is called ‘Sinking in the River’. Why didn’t you sing form a good play, but sang this bad luck play instead? If you want to sink into the river, please excuse Xiaodi for not keeping you company.”

Chen Jinnan said, “The other day on the Jiaxing boat, Zhejiang, I heard Mr. Huang Zongxi, Mr. Lu Liuliang, and Mr. Zha Yihuang, the three Jiangnan scholars telling me about Wu Xiong’s past achievements; Xiongdi was full of admiration. Although you and I are brothers of the same Society, Xiongdi has so many complicated businesses I need to take care of; all along I failed to pay you a visit in Guangdong. Wu Xiong’s capacity is unusual, you cannot come to the north either. Unexpectedly today we can be together here; this is indeed a great comfort in my life.”

---

[1] Orig. ‘Jiao’ – a legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods.

[soifuron]

For not being proficient in Chinese your translation is quite good. Thank you for the time and effort in this project.

[aliderhamy]

apparently he had nothing to do with the character ‘dragon’.

[crazee]

For not being proficient in Chinese your translation is quite good. Thank you for the time and effort in this project.

I beg to differ.... it's not quite good but very very good. no offence meant. Trying google translation I cannot make head or tail from it let lone put it into proper english.

Foxs....you're my hero...( err not like the hero XB heh heh heh)

Thanks for the update Foxs. It's really good and I really do hope that we will get to read up to the end.
Knowing Foxs's numerous other translations, I'm pretty certain he'll not let us poor admirers down.

One point I don't get is that with so many elite fighters, why is it that the rebellion is not sucessful ? I mean there were never real civil unrest or semblance of coordinated opposition.

[soifuron]

I beg to differ.... it's not quite good but very very good. no offence meant. Trying google translation I cannot make head or tail from it let lone put it into proper english. Foxs....you're my hero...( err not like the hero XB heh heh heh) Thanks for the update Foxs. It's really good and I really do hope that we will get to read up to the end. Knowing Foxs's numerous other translations, I'm pretty certain he'll not let us poor admirers down. One point I don't get is that with so many elite fighters, why is it that the rebellion is not sucessful ? I mean there were never real civil unrest or semblance of coordinated opposition.

Lol, no offense taken I can certainly see your point since I have my fair share of headache with google translation.

In my opinion, the author does a nice job of portraying why the rebellion is not successful despite having all these high level martial artists. The rebellion is not a cohesive group what with all the different factions vying for supremacy. The concept of unyielding loyalty portrayed in this novel makes it even more farfetched for the rebellion to form under one banner. To the high level martial artists once they made an allegiance to someone they will stick with that person regardless if the person is worthy or not and to serve a second master is unthinkable. e.g. Chen Jinnan So all these experts are split between 4-5 different factions and like a pile of sand they do not have what it takes to drive the Qing out. This makes it easier for the Qing to stand to the side and let the rebels destroy each other and reap the benefits.

[smurf120]

WXB talking about Ah Ke makes my stomach turn like his seasickness....LOL

Very interesting to see Wu Liuqi and Chen Jinnan meeting on the river.

[Anh Nam]

Thanks Foxs
To have a life where you can translate for us just because you want to can't be bad.

[Ace High]

One point I don't get is that with so many elite fighters, why is it that the rebellion is not sucessful ? I mean there were never real civil unrest or semblance of coordinated opposition.

These are several reasons that I can think right now.

1. Support From Peasants

At this point of time, Qing Dynasty has a very good administration system. Kang Xi holds court very frequently, and read memorials submitted to the court until late night. Able administrators are employed at all level. The country is peaceful and tranquil. The common people can live happily and peacefully. As such, the people have no reason to revolt against the Qing.

2. Strong Military

Qing Dynasty generals are capable and the soldiers are fully trained and have high discipline. Qing army’s weaponry, provision, and armoury are well cared for. They also have a clear command structure.
The rebellion has no clear command structure. There are a lot of rebel factions. Leadership was not decided by merit and/or command abilities, but more on prestige (of ancestors) and/or level of martial arts. Provincial Mengzhus have no power, more to a coordinator than a general.


3. A Few Is No match For The Many

A few elite fighters are no match for many good fighters. An elite fighter swarmed by a lot of good fighters, what the result will be. Sure, some of the good fighters will be injured and killed, but the elite fighter will unavoidably be heavily injured or killed.
I take an example of Fen Xifan against WXB’s TDH’s subordinates. FXF martial arts are higher than them individually, but when they ganged up, FXF have to retreat.