The Deer and The Cauldron

[ycb5959]

This has got to be the fastest translation thread I've seen since I joined!

Thanks foxs, for feeding our addiction on a regular basis.

[foxs]

Crazee, Drak, while Ah Ke is undoubtedly number 1, I would say Madame Hong and Fang Yi are close second and third. My personal opinion, perhaps Madame is no. 2 (see Chapter 20 or so, when WXB saw her the first time). About reading, I am addicted to it since I was a kid ... perhaps because I always saw my grandma reading in bed and bought all those books, even though we were poor. Anh, you are welcome. Smurf, but that was the only thing he could do. Wandering, I'll send you the file. Ycb, while I still have time ...

---

Wei Xiaobao sighed; he shook his head and said, “Mr. Lu, you think you are intelligent and competent, but how can you reach ten-thousandth of Jiaozhu and Madame’s intelligence? Let me tell you: you are wrong. Only Jiaozhu and Madame are eternally right.”

Lu Gaoxuan angrily said, “You speak non …” As soon as those words came out of his mouth, he knew he had committed a blunder. Although he did not continue, everybody knew that after the word ‘non’, the next word must be ‘sense’.

“Did you say I spoke nonsense [orig. ‘hu shuo’]?” Wei Xiaobao asked, “I said you are wrong, only Jiaozhu and Madame are eternally right. You are not convinced? Could it be that Jiaozhu and Madame are eternally wrong, and only you, Mr. Lu is eternally right?”

Lu Gaoxuan’s face turned beet-red. “That’s not what I mean,” he said, “It was you who said it, I didn’t say it.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Jiaozhu and Madame said that I, the White Dragon Envoy am loyal and devoted, and can’t possibly defect. The two Seniors predict like deities, how could they be wrong? Let me tell you, the Emperor sent me to bring naval cannon and go to Liaodong, we said we are going to Changbai Mountain to offer sacrifice, but actually … actually … humph, what do you know?” While his mind was racing, “What should I say, the Emperor sent me to do what?”

“So?” Hong Jiaozhu asked, “The Emperor sent you to do what?”

Wei Xiaobao said, “This matter is actually top secret, no matter what I cannot say it; once it leaks, the Emperor would want my head. But since Jiaozhu asked, in subordinate’s heart, Jiaozhu and Madame are a hundred times higher than the Emperor; he is ‘ten-thousand years’, you are ‘million-years’. He is ‘long live, long, long live’, you are ‘hundred times longer live’. Jiaozhu wants me to say, naturally I cannot conceal it.” While thinking, “How should I say it so that Jiaozhu and Madame will be convinced?”

Listening to Wei Xiaobao’s wave of flattery, Hong Jiaozhu did not have the slightest suspicion; he twirled his moustache with a slight smile on his face. Looking happy and content, he slowly nodded.

Wei Xiaobao continued, “Reporting to Jiaozhu and Madame: by his side, the Emperor has two red-haired foreigners. These two men, one is called Tang Ruowang, the other Nan Huairen. They were bestowed official position as supervisors of the Imperial Observatory.”

Hong Jiaozhu said, “This name Tang Ruowang, I have heard about it. I heard he understands astronomy, geography, yin and yang calculation, and such science.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Wei Xiaobao clucked his tongue in praise, “Jiaozhu did not go out, yet you know the matter of the world. After much calculation, this Tang Ruowang has calculated that on the north there is a Luocha Country, who is planning to do some harmful things to the Great Qing.”

Hong Jiaozhu’s eyebrows rose up. “And then what happened?” he asked.

Wei Xiaobao had heard the big beard Mongolian Hantiemo mentioned that Wu Sangui was colluding with Luocha Country and Divine Dragon Cult. Wu Sangui was in the far away Yunnan, he could not use him to his advantage; however, Luocha Country was next to Liaodong region. Sure enough, at the mention of the three words ‘Luocha Country’ [luo cha guo] Hong Jiaozhu’s expression changed at once. Wei Xiaobao knew that this subject fit the opposite party’s concern; he was greatly delighted.

“When the young emperor heard this,” he continued, “He was immediately being cautious and worried. He immediately asked Tang Ruowang to calculate the auspicious day, to quickly offer sacrifice. Tang Ruowang presented a memorial to the Emperor: ‘Let your minister go back and look at the heavens at night, calculate yin and yang during the day, and calculate everything carefully.’ Several days later, he came back to present a memorial: Luocha Country’s dragon vein is in Liaodong, on something like ‘hu tamade’ [shout his mother/crying ‘damn it’] mountain, and some ‘ama’er’ [amah] river.”

Hong Antong had lived in Liaodong for a long time, he was very familiar with local mountain and river. Hearing Wei Xiaobao’s explanation, he turned to Madame Hong and said with a laugh, “Madame, did you hear this boy said some amusing things? He changed Huma’erwoji Mountain to ‘hu tamade’ mountain and Amur River [amu’er] to ‘ama’er’ river. Ha ha, ha ha …!” Madame Hong also squealed in laughter.

“Yes, yes,” Wei Xiaobao said, “There is nothing that Jiaozhu did not know, there is no place you did not understand; subordinate greatly admires you. That foreign red-haired demon also said a lot other things, which subordinate could never remember. The young Emperor then wrote everything down in Manchurian and Han scripts, and handed it to me. But subordinate is illiterate, these ‘hu tamade’ mountain and ‘ama’er’ river, I can never remember.”

Hong Jiaozhu burst into a ‘hee hee’ laughter. He turned his head, and shot a sidelong glance toward Lu Gaoxuan, his gaze was harsh. Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo groaned inwardly.

Wei Xiaobao said, “That Tang Ruowang said that we must quickly manufacture ten red-haired cannon, and transport them to Liaodong via the ocean, and aimed them at that whatever river and whatever mountain and fire two hundred times to destroy the Luocha Country’s dragon vein; and hereafter for the next two hundred years the Great Qing will have peace and security without any trouble. It is called ‘one cannon shoot guarantees one year of peace and security’. The young Emperor said, ‘In that case, if we fire one thousand cannon, won’t we have one thousand years of peace and security?’ Tang Ruowang replied, ‘On the contrary, too much cannon fire will not work’. He also said something like ‘mysteries of heaven must not be revealed’, yellow way and black way[1], and some other gibberish for half a day. Subordinate did not understand even half a word; listening to them I was bored to death.”

Hong Jiaozhu nodded. He said, “That Tang Ruowang authored the book ‘Great Qing Constitution Period Calendar’; there is indeed only two hundred years. Apparently the Manchurian Qing destiny will last at most for two hundred years.”

Wei Xiaobao knew that there is a trick in lying; all the little details must be comprehensive, furthermore, they must be completely verifiable. Only in the significant juncture he could talk a bit of rubbish. He learned this technique from when he was still living in brothel. By lucky coincidence, Hong Antong was a very learned man; he knew the content of Tang Ruowang’s ‘Great Qing Constitution Period Calendar’. Hence Wei Xiaobao’s lie was unexpectedly fit together with the truth.

Madame Hong said, “In that case, the young Emperor is sending you to Liaodong to fire the cannon?”

Wei Xiaobao pretended to be amazed. “Uh,” he exclaimed, “How did Madame know?”

Madame Hong laughed and said, “I’ll say that what you said is not a complete truth. The young Emperor is sending you to Liaodong; how did you end up at Shen Long Island?”

Wei Xiaobao said, “That foreigner said: Luocha people’s dragon vein is an ocean dragon; for this reason these ten cannon must be transported by the ocean. When the cannon are aimed at the dragon’s mouth, and after careful calculation of the best time, waiting for the right time when it just about to take water from the ocean, the cannon will be immediately fired. The dragon’s body will be seriously injured, and it will not be able to move. If the cannon are fired from land, the dragon will eat one cannon and immediately fly to the sky. One cannon guarantees one year of peace and safety, next year we must comeback and fire another one; that would be very troublesome. He said that our cannon must be transported by the ocean, taking the long way around, so that we won’t alert the dragon vein.”

From the beginning, when fengshui and divination are mentioned, people always pay particular attention to ‘dragon vein’. But when talking about terrains that look like a dragon, it is not a real ‘dragon’. Therefore, the dragon vein could be alerted and flee to the sky and so on was entirely Wei Xiaobao’s fabrication. When Hong Antong heard this, he could not help feeling half believing and half doubting.

Seeing his changed countenance, Wei Xiaobao realized that he was not too convinced; thereupon he busily said, “That foreign demon can speak Chinese; he drew quite a few pictures to show to the young Emperor. He took several measurements, drew a circle here, a line there, explaining how the dragon vein could flee. Subordinate was too stupid, I did not understand the least bit. But actually the young Emperor was listening with keen interest.”

Hong Antong nodded; he thought that when foreigners practice fengshui, they must have different technique, which was superior to Chinese fengshui.

Seeing he accepted his explanation, Wei Xiaobao was relieved. He thought, “As soon as this matter passes, later the Buddhist conch will go ‘whoo hoo hoo’; it definitely won’t break!” [Translator note: This is literal translation, I am not sure what it means, I guess he was thinking that his lie wouldn’t be exposed.]

He said, “One day the young Emperor ordered the Imperial Observatory to select a yellow way propitious day, he issued an imperial decree sending me to Changbai Mountain to offer sacrifice to the Heaven. There was a Fujian Navy Tidu Shilang, who surrendered from Taiwan, came over. He said that even Zheng Chenggong had suffered defeat under his hands. This man is adept at firing cannon from the ship. The young Emperor sent him to go with me. He warned repeatedly ten million times that this affair must be kept in the strictest confidence; if it is leaked out, this important matter will be spoiled, maybe the Luocha Country would send seagoing ships to intercept. We were to go out to sea from Tianjin, going around the longer distance, to quietly go to Liaodong. Who would have thought that yesterday afternoon we saw a lot of floating corpses on the sea; some were fake, and among the fakes was this Thin Toutuo. With good intention I rescued him. He said the situation was freakily and desperately serious; the fighting on the Shen Long Island has turning the sky and the earth upside down, Hong Jiaozhu has sent someone to murder Blue Dragon Envoy Xu Xueting.”

“False!” Thin Toutuon yelled, “I did not say Jiaozhu murdered Blue Dragon Envoy!”

Madame Hong’s beautiful eyes glowered at him. “Thin Toutuo,” she said, “In front of Jiaozhu, do not shout and quarrel.”

“Yes,” Thin Toutuo said.

“You said that the Blue Dragon Envoy was murdered, didn’t you?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

“Yes,” Thin Toutuo replied, “It was Jiaozhu who instructed me to deceive you like that.”

“Jiaozhu told you to play a joke on me; that is possible,” Wei Xiaobao said, “But you said that in order to take revenge, Jiaozhu has murdered Blue Dragon Envoy and Scarlet Dragon Envoy. Jiaozhu puts the common good above everything with no regard for personal interests, he has great kindness and great righteousness, there is no way he would bear grudges toward his subordinates!”

For each sentence that he said, Thin Toutuo yelled one word, “False!”

Wei Xiaobao said, “You said that in order to take revenge, Jiaozhu has murdered Blue Dragon Envoy and Scarlet Dragon Envoy!”

Thin Toutuo said, “False! I did not say that.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Jiaozhu puts the common good above everything with no regard for personal interests.”

Thin Toutuo said, “False!”

Wei Xiaobao said, “He has great kindness and great righteousness!”

Thin Toutuo shouted, “False!”

Wei Xiaobao said, “There is no way he would bear grudges toward his subordinates.”

Thin Toutuo said, “False!”

Lu Gaoxuan knew that Thin Toutuo was hot-tempered and naïve, he had already set foot in Wei Xiaobao’s trap; he did not stop yelling ‘False!’, each time he shouted that, Jiaozhu’s countenance turned one degree uglier. Lu Gaoxuan was afraid that if Thin Toutuo continued yelling, the Cult Leader might lose his temper, it would be beyond redemption; therefore, he tugged Thin Toutuo’s sleeve and said, “Just listen to him reporting to Jiaozhu, don’t interrupt his train of thought.”

“This boy spouts nonsense,” Thin Toutuo said, “Are you saying that I should let him continue endlessly?”

“Jiaozhu is intelligent and wise,” Lu Gaoxuan said, “There is nothing he did not know, nothing he did not understand, you don’t have to worry, naturally Jiaozhu understands clearly.”

Thin Toutuo said, “Humph! That may not necessarily …” As soon as he said those words, his mouth stayed open but nothing came out of it; his entire face looked terrified.

Wei Xiaobao’s pair of eyes was gazing fixedly at him; suddenly he made faces. Both of them were short, but Thin Toutuo was shorter. When he made faces, Wei Xiaobao was looking down, hence nobody else saw it, but Thin Toutuo could see it clearly. Immediately his temper flared, but he was afraid to enrage the Cult Leader, hence he struggled hard to curb it. His expression looked awkward. In that instant the cabin was quiet, save for Thin Toutuo’s labored breathing.

After quite a while, Hong Jiaozhu asked Wei Xiaobao, “What else did he say?”

Wei Xiaobao replied, “Reporting to Jiaozhu: he also said that Jiaozhu stirred up trouble, inciting disharmony between the Scarlet Dragon Gate and Blue Dragon Gate …”

“I didn’t say that …” Thin Toutuo called out.

Hong Jiaozhu glowered at him; he spoke harshly, “Can’t you shut your beak for me? You squawk one more time, I am going to split you, this short winter melon, into two damn sections.”

Thin Toutuo’s face bulged purple; Lu Gaoxuan and Fat Toutuo were also overwhelmed with shock that their faces turned white. Everybody knew that Cult Leader Hong was very reserved; ordinarily, whether he was happy or angry, he would not show it on his face. It was very seldom that he spoke roughly or threw a fit. That he cursed Thin Toutuo harshly like that, he must be extremely angry.

Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted; he thought that since Thin Toutuo could not open his mouth anymore, whatever Wei Xiaobao said, he could not refute at all. Thereupon he said, “Jiaozhu, please stop being angry. This Thin Toutuo did not say anything that dishonor Jiaozhu; he only said that Jiaozhu was narrow-minded. Last time everybody plotted rebellion but failed, that important matter was spoiled by subordinate, one child; everybody was indignant, but Jiaozhu wanted to seize the chance to take revenge. He said that Jiaozhu was sending someone named He Sheng to do the deed. This man was Priest Wugen’s head disciple. Your disciple actually did not know if there is indeed someone by that name in our Cult.”

“There is indeed someone named He Sheng,” Madame Hong said, “So what?”

Wei Xiaobao had an idea, “This He Sheng is Priest Wugen’s disciple, he must be a young fellow.” He said, “Thin Toutuo told me that this He Sheng saw Madame’s beautiful appearance, these past several years he always do this and that to Madame; he said many things that are unpleasant to hear. Your disciple was furious, I was angry that he was being disrespectful toward Madame behind her back; I ordered my men to slap his mouth. At that time he was still tied with leather rope, hence he could not resist. After we beat him more than a dozen times, he did not dare to speak anymore.”

---

[1] Yellow way [huang dao] – the ecliptic (plane of the solar system); Black Way [hei dao] – usually refer to underground/clandestine operation.

[Grundle]

Haha, nice trick. Make the Madame hate the Toutuo and Jiaozhuo will have no choice. Xiaobao is such a devil.

[smurf120]

Thin Toutuo didn't stand a chance! LOL

[crazee]

Thin Toutuo didn't stand a chance! LOL

Wow...He's really good beyond my imagination. All the others stand no chance. I just thought he would have said tou tou said that there was trouble on the island and he fired the cannons to save the Jiazu and furen .... but looks like he's deeper than a shallow fellow like me.......

Thanks again Foxs.....Looks like medame Hong is really pretty, smart and efficient....only weakness, likes to be praised.... what a lady.
Yep, the china serial's actress for Hong Furen is really pretty....but then all of the 7 wifes are pretty too....

Guys...if you like pretty actresses....the china serials are good....even Zhu Er in HSDS is pretty.

As for reading.....err....I was addicted to Walt Disney comics, Beano and Dandy....then I graduated hans christian anderson, Enid Blyton when I was about 11 yrs old or so, and I cleared the school library of all Enid's books by the time I was 13 - 14 yrs old. I added in Egar Rice burrows...Harold Robbins and other not so popular writers.....before getting my hands on LOTR...that was in 1974...Somehow I never get to like stephen king, sherlock holmes and of course mills and boons.
wow....so many years have passed......and those were the days, I can spend practically the whole day reading..non stop sigh...
Nowadays I reread some of the books in my mobile phone and shucks it's taking a toll on my eyes.....heh heh heh gotta visit my specs shop.....sigh $$$$$ again. Those were the days when books were cheap. For Malaysian 20 ringgit ....about 3-4 USD then I was able to buy something like 8 books from Singapore and it was inclusive of postage. I bought "Roots" in 1976 for 5 malaysian ringgit....( less than 2 usd )....now, don't expect to get an average good book if you do not have USD 20....but luckily there are quite a number of Secondhand book stores in Singapore....avg cost of a book....2 - 4 USD.

[athlonkmf]

Actually I don't think Madame Hong is beautiful perse. I think she's more sexy.
Kinda like Scarlett Johannsson. Her facial features are kinda ordinary.

Like this $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Scarlett_Johansson_in_Kuwait_01b.jpg/264px-Scarlett_Johansson_in_Kuwait_01b.jpg')

But when you see her complete body, the full package, or when she does her sexy look, she'd smoke you away.
Like this $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ajwz1FVsQSE/TS8IZSUdaOI/AAAAAAAADXg/j9ngLVu1vSk/s1600/Scarlett+Johansson+as+Black+Widow.jpg')


Whereas Ah Ke is more like Jessica Alba. No matter in which angle, with or without makeup, she looks hot
http://www.aolcdn.com/photogalleryas...65nt010609.jpg

[Drak17]

@athlonkmf, lol I know what you're talking about. I get the feeling that she's more "sexy" too. Cause they said that she's very seductive with her voice and all. Well, nothing Xiaobao can't handle. Hahaha.

Xiaobao is too crafty! If he team up with Xiao Yu'er (from Legendary Siblings -Gu Long-), oh boy. Headachessss!!! Lol.

[Anh Nam]

Thanks Foxs

[owlHoot]

Thks Foxs, I think shuang er is hiding somewhere to make her rescue attempt hee

Thks Wandering for the epub

[pannonian]

If I post just before foxs, does that make me noughth (one before first)?

[foxs]

Grundle, Smurf, Drak, I wonder if the opponent was someone like Jiang Yulang of Legendary Siblings, can WXB used his 銀舌神功 (divine silver tongue skill)? Crazee, when I was little, there were several 'book rental' place, cheap. There was no such thing as 'public library' where I grew up. The only libraries were at school/colleges, but then there were only textbooks/magazines. Athlon, now everytime I see Madame Hong's name, I will have Scarlett Jo in my mind. Why did you have to do that? Anh, you are welcome. OwlHoot, wait and see ...

EDIT: Pannonian, how in the world did you do that? How did you know I was going to post? Are you stalking me?

---

Madame Hong was so angry that her countenance paled. “Did he really drag me down like that?” she hatefully asked.

Thin Toutuo said, “I … I did not say it.”

“Jiaozhu did not let you open your mouth, you should not speak,” Wei Xiaobao said, “I ask you: did you or did you not tell me about this man called He Sheng? If yes just nod your head, if no just shake your head.” Thin Toutuo nodded.

“That’s right,” Wei Xiaobao said, “You told me that He Sheng and Xu Xueting were fighting over jealousy, they strived to win Madame’s favor by fawning on her; thereupon this He Sheng had killed Xu Xueting, and Madame was very happy. He also said that Jiaozhu was kept hoodwinked inside a drum; he did not know anything. You said that Blue Dragon Envoy was killed by He Sheng, and that a saber was found lying on the floor inside the room, and that the saber belonged to He Sheng, isn’t that so? Did you or did you not say those things?”

Thin Toutuo nodded his head and said, “But the front …”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Since you already admitted it, that’s enough.” Actually, Thin Toutuo only said the last half, the front half was added by Wei Xiaobao. However, by nodding his head, Thin Toutuo seemed to admit that he did say the whole thing.

Wei Xiaobao said, “You said the Blue Dragon Gate, Scarlet Dragon Gate, Yellow Dragon Gate, Black Dragon Gate, plus my White Dragon Gate, were fighting each other silly. Jiaozhu had already lost his authority, that he was completely helpless to put down the fight, yes or no?”

Thin Toutuo nodded his head. Wei Xiaobao said, “You said that everybody on the Shen Long Island revolted, that Jiaozhu and Madame were being captured, that Madame’s clothes were stripped clean and she was paraded publicly on the Island. You said that Jiaozhu’s beard were pulled clean, and that he was dangled upside down on a tree, and that he was deprived of any food or drink for three days and three nights. These words, I am sure nowadays you are unwilling to admit; isn’t that so?”

To this question, nodding his head would be wrong, shaking his head would also be wrong; Thin Toutuo’s face was bulging very red, as if the blood inside his skin was about to burst. Wei Xiaobao said, “This moment you certainly want to deny, and don’t want to admit that you have said those words; isn’t that so?”

Thin Toutuo angrily said, “I did not say those words.”

“You said that you fought with Jiaozhu,” Wei Xiaobao said, “You kicked Jiaozhu twice, and struck Jiaozhu’s face three times, but Jiaozhu’s martial art skill was higher than yours, you were unable to defeat him, hence Jiaozhu tied you up and throw you into the ocean, didn’t you? You said that our Cult was in complete chaos that they sky and earth were turning upside down, and that it has collapsed silly. You said that the people, more than half were tied up by Jiaozhu and were thrown into the ocean, the rest were you kill me, I kill you; Jiaozhu and Madame were already in an extremely sorry condition that even if by now they had not died, they would not live much longer; didn’t you?”

“I … I … I …” Thin Toutuo stammered. He was so confused by Wei Xiaobao that he did not know what to say. He definitely said that he was unable to defeat the Cult Leader, and that the Cult Leader had tied him up and thrown him into the ocean; he also said that on Shen Long Island, the Five Dragon Gates were massacring each other that the Cult had collapsed silly. However, it was definitely not the same as what Wei Xiaobao had said.

Wei Xiaobao said, “Reporting to Jiaozhu: Subordinate was originally leading the navy ships toward Liaodong, to blast away the Luocha Country’s dragon’s vein, but as the ships reached here, subordinate was concerned about Jiaozhu and Madame, plus that Miss Fang. Because subordinate is thinking … is thinking of taking her as my wife, I wanted to see her; it would be best if Jiaozhu and Madame would allow me to take her go. Consequently, I ordered the ships to slowly proceed near the Isand; even if I could only look from the distant, I would be satisfied. If I could see Jiaozhu and Madame one time …”

Madame Hong smiled and said, “And that Miss Fang.”

“Yes,” Wei Xiaobao said, “This is subordinate’s selfish desire, I was not wholeheartedly loyal and devoted to Jiaozhu and Madame. I indeed deserve to die.”

Cult Leader Hong nodded. “You may continue,” he said.

Wei Xiaobao said, “Who would have thought that Thin Toutuo was rescued from the sea, I did not know what thought he harbored, unexpectedly he unreservedly reviling Jiaozhu and Madame. Subordinate was a muddle head; as soon as I heard him, I panicked, and wished very much that I could grow wings and fly to Shen Long Island, to stand by Jiaozhu and Madame’s side, and fight to the death against all those renegades. Subordinate immediately opened my mouth to curse, saying that that day Jiaozhu has solemnly commanded us that the matter of the past should not be regarded as bad debts, that we are not supposed to even raise it up; how could they harbor hard feelings and rebel against Jiaozhu? Subordinate was only worrying about the danger Jiaozhu and Madame were in, I thought about Jiaozhu, who was hung upside down by the rebels, I thought about Madame, who was stripped naked by them; I could not bear to wait even for a second more. I was really muddleheaded and deserve to die, all along I have never thought that Jiaozhu’s magical power is extensive; if some people are rebelling against their superior, Jiaozhu only needs to stretch out several fingers, and they would be pinched dead like ants. How could Jiaozhu be possibly humiliated by the rebels? It’s just that subordinate was anxious, immediately I ordered all our ships to go out to sea to attack Shen Long Island. I instructed them: the good people on the Island are being caught by the bad people, if anybody come out to resist, you may fire at will to bombard them. As soon as you come ashore, quickly search for one majestic Senior, whose appearance grand, who looks like the Jade Emperor, who look like the deity Bodhisattva; that is precisely the Shen Long Jiao’s Hong Jiaozhu, everybody must listen to his command. Subordinate also told them: the women on the Island must not be offended, especially the young woman who is as delicate as a flower, as refined as a precious jade, whose appearance is beautiful, who looks like immortal descending to the world, who is precisely Madame Hong; everybody must be even more respectful.”

Madame Hong giggled and said, “So from what you said, the only reason you sent the troops to attack Shen Long Island was because of your loyalty to Jiaozhu? Not only you are innocent, you have rendered merit instead?”

Wei Xiaobao said, “Subordinate does not have the least bit of merit; it’s just that seeing Jiaozhu and Madame are safe and sound, several Zhangmenshi are still loyal and devoted, and still serving Jiaozhu and Madame well, my heart is very happy. Subordinate’s first hope is that Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven’s. The second hope is that in our Cult, everybody will display utter loyalty and dedicate ourselves to the service of our country; whatever Jiaozhu says, everybody will act accordingly. The third hope … the third hope …”

Madame Hong laughed and said, “The third hope is to have Miss Fang as your wife.”

“This is a minor matter,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Subordinate has already decided in my heart that as long as I perform my duty with every effort to Jiaozhu and Madame’s liking, Jiaozhu and Madame naturally will not treat your subordinate unfairly.”

Hong Antong nodded. “Your mouth surely can talk really well,” he said, “But you said you were concerned about me and Madame; why didn’t you lead the troops personally to the Shen Long Island? Why did you send people to open fire and shoot randomly, while you yourself hid faraway in the back?”

This question actually hit the key point, Wei Xiaobao was agape and tongue-tied, momentarily he was speechless, knowing that as long as his answer was not completely convincing, Hong Jiaozhu would be suspicious, and then the previous big lie would be exposed, and then even his little life would be difficult to protect. In a moment of desperation, he had no choice but to say, “Subordinate really deserves to die; in all honesty, I was not loyal enough to Jiaozhu and Madame. When I heard from Thin Toutuo how vicious the people on the Island were, that even Jiaozhu and Madame were caught by them, subordinate was terrified. Last time … last time they betrayed Jiaozhu, it was subordinate who spoiled their major effort. If they caught me, they would definitely pull my tendon apart and peel my skin. Subordinate is afraid of death, hence I hid myself faraway in the back and only sent the troops under my command to save Jiaozhu and Madame. This … this … I really deserve to die.”

Cult Leader Hong and Madame looked at each other, and nodded slowly. They both thought that since this child admitted that he was afraid of death, he must be telling the truth. Cult Leader Hong said, “Whether you are telling the truth or you are lying, I will examine carefully. If I find out that you are lying, humph, humph, you know what’s coming.”

“Yes!” Wei Xiaobao said, “Whatever punishment Jiaozhu and Madame decide, subordinate will accept it delightedly. However, please do not hand subordinate over into Fat Toutuo, Thin Toutuo, Lu Gaoxuan’s hands. This time … this time they set up an ingenious plan, swindling the Qing troops into bombarding Shen Long Island, killing not a few brothers and sisters; it was a huge plot. In my subordinate’s opinion, this Lu Gaoxuan surely wants to be Lu Jiaozhu. When we were in Yunnan, he said, ‘I don’t want to enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life the same as the heaven’s; as long as I can enjoy his fifty years of good fortune, it would suffice very much …’”

Lu Gaoxuan roared angrily, “You … you …” Waving his palm, he struck toward Wei Xiaobao’s back.

Priest Wugen rushed a step forward with outstretched arm to block. ‘Bang!’ Lu Gaoxuan was jolted back two steps. Priest Wugen was only shaken that his body swayed. “Lu Gaoxuan,” he shouted, “How could you dare to commit violence to injure someone in front of Jiaozhu?”

Lu Gaoxuan looked deathly pale. He bowed and said, “Jiaozhu please forgive me, hearing this fellow fabricated a lie, subordinate could not hold back; it was indeed very disrespectful.”

“Humph,” Hong Jiaozhu snorted. He said to Wei Xiaobao, “You may go down.” Turning to Priest Wugen, he said, “You guard him personally, don’t let anybody harm him, and don’t let him wander about aimlessly. Don’t speak with him. This child is full of devilish tricks and cunning stratagems, you must be particularly careful.” Priest Wugen bowed in compliance.

Henceforth for the next several days Wei Xiaobao stayed in the same cabin with Priest Wugen day and night. Early morning every day he saw the sun was rising up on the starboard and setting down on the port side, hence he knew the ship was sailing north. The first day or two he was still hoping that Shi Lang and Huang Fu’s navy ships would be able to catch up and rescue him, but as time went by, he lost all hopes. “My nonsense talk,” he mused, “Jiaozhu and Madame believed about ninety percent; it’s just that I led the troops to blast Shen Long Island that it collapsed silly, even if it stemmed from good intention, in the end I am still guilty. Fortunately that short winter melon deceived me by pretending to be floating corpse was Jiaozhu’s own idea. Otherwise, there is a good chance that in his anger he might lump me together with the short winter melon and kill us, and make a pot of little treasure [xiao bao] winter melon soup.” He also thought, “This ship is sailing to the north; could it be heading toward Liaodong?”

He tried to ask Priest Wugen several times, but Priest Wugen always replied, “I don’t know.”

Wei Xiaobao teased him to talk, Priest Wugen said, “Jiaozhu’s order, I must not talk to you.” He also did not allow Wei Xiaobao to leave the cabin even for one step.

Wei Xiaobao was bored, he thought, “That dead girl Fang Yi is clearly on the ship, yet she did not come to accompany laozi to divert my mind from boredom.” He recalled that this time he got captured by Divine Dragon Cult was also because of Fang Yi who lured him. “If laozi could escape this time,” he mused, “If later on I cast even a glance toward that little mother skin Fang Yi, laozi is not surnamed Wei. I have fallen into her trick twice, how could I let myself to fall again the third time?” Yet thinking about Fang Yi’s tender and beautiful appearance, her gentle manner, he could not restrain his heart from being moved. On the second thought, he mused, “So what if I am not surnamed Wei? Laozi does not even know my father, what is my real surname anyway?”

The ship continuously sailed northward, the weather was getting colder and colder. Priest Wugen had profound internal energy, he was not affected by the cold. Wei Xiaobao, however, felt so cold that he did not stop shivering, his teeth chattered, making ‘click-click’ noise.

Several days later, the north wind roared, the sky was dark, suddenly heavy snow fell. “I am freezing to death here,” he called out. He thought, “Songgotu Dage sent me a mink fur robe, too bad I left it in the camp and did not bring it here. Ay, if I have known that Fang Yi, that little mother skin, was going to swindle me again, I should have worn that mink fur robe when I embraced her, so that I would not freeze to death on the ship. Frozen White Dragon Envoy; it’s terrible indeed.”

The ship sailed into the night. Suddenly he heard continuous clanking noise. After listening carefully, Wei Xiaobao realized that it was the sound of ice on the surface of the sea breaking; he was shocked. “Aiyo, not good!” he cried out, “If the ship freezes in the middle of the ocean, won’t that be terrible?”

Priest Wugen said, “The ocean can’t possibly freeze; we must be nearing land.”

“Have we arrived in Liaodong?” Wei Xiaobao asked.

“Humph,” Priest Wugen snorted, but did not say anything.

The next morning, when he pushed open the cabin window to look outside, Wei Xiaobao saw vast expanse of whiteness; the ocean was full of ice floe, with white snow accumulated on the ice. In the distant he vaguely saw land. That evening, the battleship sailed toward the shore and dropped anchor; it appeared that the next morning they were going to ride the skiff to come ashore.

[crazee]

[I]when I was little, there were several 'book rental' place, cheap. There was no such thing as 'public library' where I grew up. The only libraries were at school/colleges, but then there were only textbooks/magazines. Athlon, now everytime I see Madame Hong's name, I will have Scarlett Jo in my mind. Why did you have to do that?

Thanks Foxs....an interesting update......looks like hong jiauzhu is not as gullible as xb thinks....
No we don't have public libraries in those days and the library I talked about are actually book boxes....and our secondary school library. Till today, I've yet to borrow any book from a public library.
I'm lucky, I don't know who scarlett is and Jessica alba ??? well I know her from Fantastic four....no I do not link her to Ah Ke...maybe because I've seen a few serials, the link is vague...maybe that's the advantage for simpletons....heh heh heh

[Anh Nam]

Thanks Foxs
We used to have used book stores in Miami. Now the rent is so high they are all going out of business.

[pannonian]

[I]Grundle, Smurf, Drak, I wonder if the opponent was someone like Jiang Yulang of Legendary Siblings, can WXB used his 銀舌神功 (divine silver tongue skill)? Crazee, when I was little, there were several 'book rental' place, cheap. There was no such thing as 'public library' where I grew up. The only libraries were at school/colleges, but then there were only textbooks/magazines. Athlon, now everytime I see Madame Hong's name, I will have Scarlett Jo in my mind. Why did you have to do that? Anh, you are welcome. OwlHoot, wait and see ...

EDIT: Pannonian, how in the world did you do that? How did you know I was going to post? Are you stalking me?

I logged on and noticed you were online. Oh, and try to catch Royal Tramp 2008. Madame Hong is brrrr.

[Gubrak]

Aaah so fast ..... really amazing.
Thanks Foxs

[foxs]

Crazee, I am not really familiar with those two either, but at least whenever I opened msn.com or yahoo, once in a while those names appeared, hence I know a bit about them. The only movie I've seen with ScaJo was the one with Bill Murray, set in Japan. I have never seen Jessica Alba's movie. Anh, too bad ... But since the library here have lots of books, I don't go to bookstores too often nowadays. If I want to buy something, usually amazon is the first place I visit. Pannonian, oh ... I noticed there is a bar down there, but most of the time I only see my own username, although the caption says "2 users and 1 guest"; so I thought others might not be able to see me. Gubrak, you are welcome.

---

That night myriads of thought surging through Wei Xiaobao’s mind: how would Hong Jiaozhu deal with him? It was not easy to guess. He seemed to believe Wei Xiaobao’s explanation, but did not seem to believe it either. Why did they go to this world of ice and snow?

After thinking for a while, he finally fell asleep. In his sleep he saw Fang Yi suddenly sat by his side; he reached out to embrace her. In his daze, he seemed to hear Fang Yi said, “Don’t make trouble!”

“Dead wife,” Wei Xiaobao replied, “I want to make trouble.” He felt Fang Yi was struggling in his embrace.

Still half-asleep, he heard the person in his bosom said in a low voice, “Xianggong, we have to leave quickly!” It sounded like Shuang’er’s voice.

Wei Xiaobao was startled, and sobered immediately. He felt there was indeed a soft and tender body in his embrace, but since it was drak, he could not see who she was. “Is it Fang Yi? Is it Madame Hong?” he wondered in his heart. There were only those two women on the battleship. He thought, “I don’t care if it is Fang Yi or Madame Hong, I would kiss her first and talk later; I’d better take this advantage!” He held the person in his bosom tighter and tried to kiss her lips. The person laughed softly and turned her head to avoid. This time, although the laugh was soft, it was very clear that she was indeed Shuang’er.

Wei Xiaobao was pleasantly surprised; he whispered on her ear, “Shuang’er, how did you get here?”

“Let’s go quickly,” Shuang’er said, “I will tell you slowly.”

Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “I am freezing to death, you quickly get into my quilt, you are so warm and nice.”

“Ay,” Shuang’er said, “Good Xianggong, you really love to make trouble, and you also don’t want to think about what time it is.”

Wei Xiaobao held her even tighter. “Where are we going to flee?” he asked.

Shuang’er said, “We are slipping away from the aft, and row the skiff to come ashore. Even if they find out, they won’t be able to pursue.”

Wei Xiaobao was greatly delighted. “Brilliant scheme, brilliant scheme!” he called out, “Aiyo, how about that priest?”

Shuang’er said, “I sneaked into the cabin and sealed his acupoint.”

The two of them tiptoed out of the cabin. A burst of cold wind assaulted their faces. Wei Xiaobao’s entire body nearly froze; he quickly turned back into the cabin, peeled the Taoist robe from Priest Wugen’s body and wrapped it around his own. The sky was cloudy, the moon and stars did not shine, heavy snow was still coming down incessantly. The two of them stealthily went toward the stern, their ears did not hear any noise anywhere. The ship had already dropped anchor, even the helmsman who operate the rudder had also went into the cabin to sleep.

Holding Wei Xiaobao’s hand, Shuang’er led him step-by-step to the aft. She said in a low voice, “I jump down first, you follow!” Taking a deep breath, she quietly jumped into the skiff tied behind the ship.

Wei Xiaobao looked down; it was pitch-black and he was scared. Closing his eyes, he jumped down. Shuang’er raised her palms to catch his back and his buttocks. She had to circle around on the skiff to break the momentum of the fall before she could finally set him down.

Suddenly from the hold of the ship someone shouted, “Who’s there?” It was the Cult Leader Hong’s voice.

Wei Xiaobao and Shuang’er were shocked; they crouched at the bottom of the skiff, did not dare to make any noise. They heard a clatter, then saw flame from the window of the cabin. Shuang’er knew that Hong Jiaozhu had heard the noise and lighted a candle to look. Hastily she picked up the wooden oar on the skiff and rowed furiously.

She only rowed twice when Hong Jiaozhu’s was shouting loudly, “Who is it? Don’t move!” Suddenly the skiff shook and stopped moving forward. Turned out in their panic they forgot to untie the mooring rope of the skiff. Wei Xiaobao hastily reached out to untie; it was ice-cold. Actually, the skiff was tied to the ship with iron chain.

They heard quite a number of people shouting on the big ship, “White Dragon Envoy disappeared!” “This boy has run away!” “Where did he go? Pursue quickly, pursue quickly!”

Wei Xiaobao pulled the dagger from his boot and swung it forcefully. ‘Shua!’ the iron chain broke, the skiff immediately shot forward. As soon as the noise was heard, one after another Hong Jiaozhu, Madame Hong, Fat and Thin Toutuo, Lu Gaoxuan, and the others rushed to the stern. Under the reflection of the light from the ice and snow, they could see the skiff was already several zhang away from the big ship. Hong Jiaozhu reached out to grab a piece of wood from the ship’s side and hurled it toward the skiff. Although his internal strength was deep, the wood was too light, it was two chi short from the skiff. ‘Splash!’ it plunged into the water.

At first Lu Gaoxuan, Fat Toutuo, and the others were unclear of Hong Jiaozhu’s intention, they did not dare to shoot secret projectiles for fear that they would harm the White Dragon Envoy and would have to bear the responsibility instead; but when they saw the Cult Leader grabbed the block of wood from the ship’s side and threw it out to strike, they understood his intention. Those with secret projectiles in their possession immediately shot their weapons. However, in such a short period of time the skiff was already rowed two more zhang forward, while secret weapons were usually small, it was difficult to reach far. Arrows, steel dart, flying locust stone, and various heavy objects were not close at hand; people could only shoot spring-loaded arrow concealed in their sleeve, poison needles, and so on, which all fell into the ocean.

Thin Toutuo said, “This boy is so sly, I knew it all along that he is not a good person; we should have just kill him with a chop, by letting him alive we only ask for trouble.”

Hong Jiaozhu was already furious; with this cynical remark Thin Toutuo was obviously mocking him for not able to see the matter clearly. Reaching out with his left hand, he grabbed the back of Thin Toutuo’s neck and shouted, “Quickly go and catch him back for me.” His left hand went up, he lifted Thin Toutuo up into the air, with his right hand he grabbed Thin Toutuo’s buttocks, and shouted, “Quickly go!” He pulled his arms slightly, and then exerting all the internal energy into his arms, he hurled him out.

Shuang’er gave everything she had to paddle. “Aiyo, not good!” Wei Xiaobao cried out, “Incoming human cannonball!” His cried had not finished, ‘splosh!’ Thin Toutuo plunged into the ocean. He fell only a few chi behind the skiff. As soon he resurfaced, his left hand managed to grab the edge of the skiff.

Shuang’er lifted up the oar and smashed it down as hard as she could, she struck his skull. Thin Toutuo grunted out in pain, but his right hand also grabbed the edge of the skiff. Shuang’er was greatly anxious; she struck down again, ‘crack!’ the wooden oar broke into two, the skiff immediately spun around. Thin Toutuo was dizzy, he shook his head to clear it up. Wei Xiaobao scratched with his dagger, four of Thin Toutuo’s right hand fingers were cut clean. In severe pain, he was unable to hold himself; his right hand loosened, his body bobbed up and down in the water, as he screamed and cursed.

Shuang’er picked up the remaining oar and paddled desperately; the skiff once again sailed toward the shore.

After sailing for a while, they left the big ship far behind, and knew that those people could not possibly overtake them. The big ship only had one skiff. Although Hong Jiaozhu and the others possessed high level of martial art skill, they would not dare to jump into the sea and swim to pursue them, not in this weather where the cold penetrated their bones and marrow. Besides, even if they swam faster, they would still be unable to catch up with the skiff.

Wei Xiaobao took out a plank from the bottom of the skiff and helped paddling. They heard the faint noise of people on the big ship cursing angrily. But a moment later, the north wind finally masked the people’s voices. Wei Xiaobao let out a deep breath and said, “We finally escaped!”

The two of them rowed for almost an hour before they finally reached the shore. Shuang’er jumped into the water. The water reached her knees. She pulled the skiff by the remaining half of the iron chain to get it closer to the shore. “It’s enough!” she said.

Wei Xiaobao jumped out of the skiff and landed on the shore. “Great success!” he called out.

Shuang’er giggled and retreated a few steps. “Xianggong, please don’t fool around,” she said, “We must leave quickly, don’t let Hong Jiaozhu and the others catch up with us.”

Wei Xiaobao was startled. “What kind of ghost place is this?” he asked with knitted brows. He looked around, but all he could see was brilliant white snow covering a boundless plain. In the dark of the night he could see nothing else.

“I don’t know what kind of place this is,” Shuang’er replied, “Xianggong, where do you think we should go?”

Wei Xiaobao was so cold that he did not stop trembling, his brain seemed to be frozen stiff as well, unexpectedly he could not think of even half of a good idea. “His granny,” he cursed, “It’s all Fang Yi, that dead little mother skin’s fault; she harmed us so that we’ll freeze to death in this snowy place.”

“Let’s go,” Shuang’er said, “Walking will make our body warmer.”

The two of them started to walk toward the snowy area. The snow accumulation was about a chi thick, as they stepped into it, their entire calf was submerged; hence taking stride was very difficult.

Although it was a hard going, Wei Xiaobao pressed on, remembering that Hong Jiaozhu’s magical power was extensive [i.e. resourceful], he would find a way to come ashore. But on this snowy ground their footprints were really deep, where could they escape? Even if they continued running for several days, most likely that in the end they would still be captured; therefore, he did not dare to pause even for a moment. While they were rushing along, he asked Shuang’er how she ended up in the ship.

Turned out when Wei Xiaobao saw Fang Yi that day, with ‘lost soul, dropped spirit’ he rushed over to talk to her, while Shuang’er was following him on the skiff. When Wei Xiaobao fell and was captured, while everybody’s attention was on him, Shuang’er was very sharp-witted; she immediately hid on the stern. This battleship was seized by Hong Jiaozhu and the others from Qing troops’ hands, the helmsman, the sailors, everybody on the ship was Qing troops. Shuang’er was wearing Valiant Cavalry Brigade officer’s uniform; mingled among the other officers and soldiers, nobody detected her. It was only after the ship reached the shore that she came out in the middle of the night to rescue him.

Wei Xiaobao greatly praised her intelligence and quick-wit; he said, “Fang Yi that dead girl always swindles me, always do me harm; Shuang’er this sweet treasure always saves my life. I do not want her to be my wife, I want you to be my wife.”

Shuang’er hastily pulled her hands away and drew back several steps. “I am your little servant girl,” she said, “Naturally with one heart one mind I will take care of you.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “To have you as my little servant girl, my previous generation ancestors must have tapped four times seven, twenty-eight wooden fish[2], read over three by seven, twenty-one ‘Forty-two-chapter Sutra’ until they rot. Only then would I have such a good fortune in this life.”

Shuang’er giggled and said, “Xianggong always know how to talk.”

When the dawn arrived, they had walked far away from the shore. Looking back, they saw two sets of clear footprints on the snow, stretching out to the horizon. Looking forward, the plain seemed to be vast and limitless. Although Hong Jiaozhu and the others had not caught up with them, it seemed to be just a matter of time.

Wei Xiaobao was very anxious in his heart. “Even if we walk ten more days and nights, in the end they will still overtake us,” he said.

Shuang’er pointed to the right and said, “That looks like a forest; if we enter the forest, it would not be easy for Hong Jiaozhu and the others to find us.”

Wei Xiaobao said, “If that is indeed a forest, it would be great, but it does not look like a forest.”

The two of them changed their course; picking up speed, they walked uphill toward the snowy mound. But after walking for two hours, they could see clearly that it was nothing more than a knoll rising up in the middle of the great plain; it was not a forest at all.

Wei Xiaobao said, “Let’s go around the hill, perhaps we’ll see some place we may hide.” By this time he was already panting, his strength had almost gone.

After walking for another hour, they reached the back of the hill, but all they saw was till a vast white plain, just like a snow-covered ocean; there was no place to hide. Wei Xiaobao was weary and was very hungry; he plopped himself down on the snowy ground and said, “Good Shuang’er, if you don’t hug me, give me a kiss, I won’t have any strength to walk anymore.”

Shuang’er blushed; she thought about complying, but she also thought that this matter was very improper. While she was hesitating, suddenly ‘crack’, they heard a noise behind their backs. Turning their heads, the two of them saw seven, eight big deer appeared from behind the small hill.

Wei Xiaobao was delighted. “My tummy is starving to death!” he said, “Do you happen to know a way to catch a deer and kill it? Then we’ll have roast venison to eat.”

“Let me try,” Shuang’er said. Suddenly she leaped toward those several big deer.

Who would have thought that with their four extremely long legs, these Spotted Deer [orig. ‘plum blossom deer’] were able to leap as if they were flying; as soon as they turned around and ran, they already rushed several dozen zhang away. It was impossible to run after them. Shuang’er shook her head and said, “I can’t catch them.”

Actually, these spotted deer were not afraid of human; seeing Shuang’er stopped, they also stopped and turned their heads. Wei Xiaobao said, “Let us lie down on the ground, pretend to be dead. Let’s see if the deer would come over or not.”

Shuang’er laughed and said, “Alright, I’ll give it a try.” Finished speaking she immediately lay down on the snowy ground.

---

[2] Wooden percussion instrument used in Buddhist meditation.

[sablemagi]

oh thanks so much foxs! that was a pretty close call! shuang'er is the best.

[Drak17]

@foxs, oh man, that's a hard one. Jiang Yulang is pretty formidable haha. Not really sure who's going to win, Xiaobao vs Yulang. Them three all have golden tongue! lol. Maybe Xiaobao can weasel his ways out, but if Yulang uses his wugong then its game over.

Thanks foxs.

[smurf120]

I don't think Shang'er has a great opinion of Fang Yi if she becomes suspicious each time that FY is around. Yay! Some alone time with WXB and Shang'er! Hoping the next sections will be very interesting since their adventure in the ice cold North.

I just finished a fictional book about China in the late 1950's and found that Hong Jiaozhu seems like a stand-in for Mao Zedong (before I thought he was like Ren Woxing in Smiling Proud Wanderer - maybe they are both modeled after Mao). Also realized how well WXB would come out if he was required to "struggle" (publicly humiliate) against his enemies.

Seeing that Jiang Yulong was no match for Xiao Yu'er, I don't see how he can be a match for WXB. Also Xiao Yu'er has undeniable street smarts not sure how he will do in the political arena so I cast a win for WXB there too.

[athlonkmf]

Seeing that Jiang Yulong was no match for Xiao Yu'er, I don't see how he can be a match for WXB. Also Xiao Yu'er has undeniable street smarts not sure how he will do in the political arena so I cast a win for WXB there too.

I don't know, I've read the twins too, but really... XYE never really showed anything that qualifies him to be "world's smartest"... At least WXB surprises everyone reading here with his wits. It might GuLong's writing style is just inferior to JinYong, but really no... There was no moment of "wow he's smart"
I think XYE is not even on par with Yeung Hong.