The Deer and The Cauldron

[JoeLee]

Thanks Foxs! As for your previous request, i'm a part time student doing an internship in the oil and gas industry. My major is accounting...

Your in the defense industry hey? man that sounds like an interesting job that pays well too hahha! Must have been pretty hard to land that position i'm assuming?

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for the another update foxs.

I am a design engineer in aerospace and defense industry, hence the type of 'auditor' I am familiar with is the first one.

Sounds like you got a really cool job there foxs!

Sky, I am not familiar with NYC financial district. My impression is that you are one of those finance people who make the big bucks.

Downtown NYC is considered the Financial District b/c that's where all the big investment firms are located and not to mention the Stock Exchanges. There are lot of those finance people & traders who do make the big bucks with the big bonus checks at year end but unfortunately, I'm not one of those. I'm just a normal person who just make enough to go through life.

[bchin22]

Skywalker, I live in NYC too! I work by Union Square. Let's grab lunch sometime yes?!

Thanks for the post foxs.

I live in NYC and work in the Financial District of Downtown. I love to travel, watch sports, and of course, read wuxia fiction. What about yourself foxs?

[smurf120]

I am a financial analyst hailing from Chicago. Born and raised here but speak pretty fluent Cantonese with credit due to TVB (cannot read Chinese or speak Mandarin).

To clarify earlier, I am deeply familiar with small screen adaptations of DOMD - saw Tony Leung's version at least 8 times, then Jordan Chan's, then mainland version with Huang Xiao Ming. Also own the set of Minford books. Book I was nicely translated in its own rights, but it didn't "feel" Chinese to me.

[SkyWalker]

bchin22, I just sent you a PM.

[darkcser]

I am a financial analyst hailing from Chicago. Born and raised here but speak pretty fluent Cantonese with credit due to TVB (cannot read Chinese or speak Mandarin).

What do you do as financial analyst?

[smurf120]

What do you do as financial analyst?

I am corporate financial analyst which means I do a little bit of everything as it relates to the business units and accounting (this is as opposed to Fund Analyst who gives stock/investment research recommendations or pure accounting). Generally I run reports to figure out profitability of different departments, find efficiencies, and make recommendations.

Sometimes this means looking into expenses (what we spend)/revenue (what comes in vs. where the money comes from), doing mini internal audits to make sure numbers look the same and balance, and making financial models.

Hope explanation is not too general or long winded. I would be happy to give further details as I was never able to get straight answers when I asked this question during my early job hunting days.

[darkcser]

I am corporate financial analyst which means I do a little bit of everything as it relates to the business units and accounting (this is as opposed to Fund Analyst who gives stock/investment research recommendations or pure accounting). Generally I run reports to figure out profitability of different departments, find efficiencies, and make recommendations.

Sometimes this means looking into expenses (what we spend)/revenue (what comes in vs. where the money comes from), doing mini internal audits to make sure numbers look the same and balance, and making financial models.

Hope explanation is not too general or long winded. I would be happy to give further details as I was never able to get straight answers when I asked this question during my early job hunting days.

I work as a developer at an asset management company so when I see financial analyst I think of portfolio managers and quantitative researchers (i.e. people with favor CFAs). Thanks for the explanation. What are the hours like out of curiosity?

It's 11pm, and I'm still at work due to a database meltdown... or rather I should say a file system level corruption... not a good day.

[tweety365]

Tweety, 'internal auditor' as in quality, ISO compliance and so on? Or financial auditor as in accounting, tax, etc.? To answer SkyWalker's question, I am a design engineer in aerospace and defense industry, hence the type of 'auditor' I am familiar with is the first one. Sky, I am not familiar with NYC financial district. My impression is that you are one of those finance people who make the big bucks. Ali, 'work' is something that people like me have to do to stay alive ... I am guessing you are a student, but what major?

I do risk assessment, audit quality and compliance, review regulations (company & government), etc. Basically, a lot of paper shuffling and talking to people . Most days, the job is very tedious

[owlHoot]

I'm working as a software developer, workload volume increases or decreases according to project users..reading the translation gives my mind a break

[aliderhamy]

I do risk assessment, audit quality and compliance, review regulations (company & government), etc. Basically, a lot of paper shuffling and talking to people . Most days, the job is very tedious

Accounting and finance graduate

what does it mean when more then 50% of your readers are accountants and financiers ?

[smurf120]

What are the hours like out of curiosity?

It's 11pm, and I'm still at work due to a database meltdown... or rather I should say a file system level corruption... not a good day.

Yeah, most people think of Quant Analyst when I say I am financial analyst. Hours are not so bad - most days are 9 - 6 PM, but month end and QTR end are more like 7 AM - 7 PM, while year end + audit is like all Saturdays during January - mid Feb.

I hope your system came back up soon after your last post!

[smurf120]

Accounting and finance graduate

what does it mean when more then 50% of your readers are accountants and financiers ?

DOMD fans are more money oriented and practical??? LOL

[foxs]

Thanks for all your response everybody. At least bchin and sky will have a nice lunch together because of my request. JoeLee, Sky, my job is not as glamorous or secretive as you thought. There are hundreds, if not thousands, companies like ours, i.e. in aerospace and defense industry. We are only a little fish in a big pond. We make only one component. No, it was not that difficult to get this position, and no, I don't make big bucks (that will be sky, smurf, darkcser ... those finance people ). I am not being modest, my salary is comparable to engineers in different industries. Tweety, I think only you and I are in manufacturing. owlhoot, we do not have other software engineer yet. Ali, are you also one of those financiers? But speaking about the Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao was also dealing with a lot of money.

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Hearing this, Wei Xiaobao did not have the slightest doubt, he knew these people were the warriors who fought against the imperial court. Before he met Mao Shiba, in the Yangzhou’s neighborhood and marketplace, he often heard people mentioning all kinds of chivalrous deeds the Tian Di Hui was doing to fight the Qing. In those years, when the Qing troops entered Yangzhou, they massacred the people without restraint, raping and pillaging, committing any imaginable misdeed. The so-called ‘Ten days in Yangzhou, Three massacres in Jiading[6]’ was really tragic beyond words.” In the city of Yangzhou, there was no family whose member did not run into misfortune during this holocaust. As a result, in regard to the sentiment of resisting the Qing, the admiration of people of Yangzhou was virtually several notches higher than that of people of different places.

By this time, the ‘Ten days in Yangzhou’ disaster happen no more than twenty years ago; since his childhood, Wei Xiaobao had heard people unceasingly mentioned the evil deeds of the Qing army, he also heard about how Shi Gebu sacrificed himself in resisting the enemy, how certain people were able to take the enemy down with their deaths. When Mao Shiba was fighting the salt smugglers at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, it was exactly for the sake of a Tian Di Hui member. Along the way, he heard not a few of Mao Shiba’s story about Tian Di Hui’s heroic deeds, also about the saying ‘Whoever never knew Chen Jinnan, he calls himself a hero in vain’, and so on. In his heart, Wei Xiaobao had already admired and looked up to these people. At this moment, with his own eyes he had witnessed how this heroic group had killed the Tatars, he could not help but was very excited; in that instant he had forgotten his own status as ‘little eunuch’ of the Tatars’ imperial court.

The tall and slim old man waited until the people were calming down before continuing, “In Green Wood Hall, for the last two years, we have always remembered Yin Xiangzhu, Yin Dage’s enmity. In front of the spirit tablet of Wan Yunlong Dage, everybody made a blood oath that we were going to kill Oboi to avenge Yin Dage. At that time Yin Xiangzhu has died as a martyr, everybody in Jianghu admires and respects him. When his soul in heaven sees Oboi this dog head, he certainly will have a good laugh.”

“Exactly, exactly,” the people responded.

A majestic voice from the crowd said, “Two years ago, we all took an oath, if we fail to kill Oboi, then everybody in out Green Wood Hall is the distant grandson of a black bear [i.e. a coward], who won’t have any face to walk in the Jianghu. At long last today we wipe away this extraordinary shame and humiliation. For the last two years, I, the one surnamed Fan, cannot eat to the full, cannot have a good sleep; day and night I kept thinking of how can I avenge Yin Xiangzhu, how to expunge the disgrace of Green Wood Hall. Finally, everybody’s cherished desire is fulfilled. Ha ha, ha ha …!” Many people were laughing wildly with him.

“Alright,” the tall and slim old man said, “Our Green Wood Hall has again roused our powerful wind, everybody feels proud and elated, once again we can raise our heads high and behave with integrity. These past two years, the brethrens of Green Wood Hall were like master-less lonely souls, in the Tian Di Hui’s meeting, the brethrens of other halls only had to look at us once, and then they would laugh grimly. I was so ashamed that I was unable to show my face in public, did not dare to interrupt or speak a few words in any meeting discussing either important or trivial businesses. Although our Zongduozhu has several times conveyed messages to enlighten us, saying that the revenge for Yin Xiangzhu is the business of the entire Tian Di Hui, not the responsibility of one hall, the Green Wood Hall, only. However, the cold words and sarcastic comments of the brothers from other halls cannot be simply dismissed. From now on, it’s going to be substantially different.”

“Right, right,” another man replied, “Li Dage is right, we must take this opportunity to take on the task and complete it with one sustained effort, do a large-scale effort to accomplish several more great undertaking. This evil thief Oboi had a reputation as the ‘number one warrior of Manchuria’; today he died under our hands, thus those number two warrior, number three warrior, number four warrior and so on will be scared to death!” As they heard this, the people roared in laughter again.

Wei Xiaobao mused, “One minute you cried, the next minute you laughed, just like an upside-down child.”

Suddenly there was a cold voice from among the crowd, “Was it us, the Green Wood Hall, who killed Oboi?”

As soon as the people heard this, silence fell. More than two hundred people assembled in that hall, but in an instant ‘the crow and peacock made no sound’. After a long while, someone said, “Although the one who killed Oboi was someone else, it was because we, the Green Wood Hall who raided Prince Kang’s mansion. Only by taking advantage of the confusion was that person able to kill Oboi.”

The person who previously spoke said again in cold voice, “So that’s how it is.”

The man with the coarse and loud voice said, “Qi Laosan[7], what is the meaning of your words?”

Still with a cold voice the one called Qi Laosan replied, “What meaning do I have? I don’t have any meaning, not the least bit! It’s just that when the brethrens from the other halls say: This achievement of Green Wood Hall is really impressive! But I wonder which brother of your precious hall actually killed Oboi?’ If this question is asked, I am afraid it will be somewhat difficult for us to answer. There is no harm in all of us thinking: is it possible that other people will ask this question? I am afraid in one thousand people, there will be nine-hundred and ninety nine people who will ask the question! Now we are blowing our own horns, pasting gold on our own faces, won’t it be rather … rather … hey, hey, we all understand it in our hearts!” The crowd fell silent completely. They all felt that his words were sharp and extremely not pleasant to hear, but it was the truth, and it was hard to refute.

After a long while, the tall and slim old man said, "This is the little eunuch from the Qing Palace who killed Oboi; the result of an accident arising from many causes. It was Yin Xiangzhu's own spirit from heaven who gave his blessing secretly, using the hand of a child to get rid of this big traitor. All of us are upright and honest men, we won't tell any lie contrary to our conscience." The crowd looked at each other, some people could not help but shaking their heads; at first they were high spirit, but thinking that the person killing Oboi was not a brother from the Green Wood Hall, immediately their spirit was dampened.

The tall and slim old man said, "For the last two years, our Hall is without a leader. Everybody pushed Xiongdi to temporarily perform the duty of a Xiangzhu. Now that Yin Xiangzhu's enmity has been avenged, Xiongdi is laying down the authority tablet in front of Yin Xiangzhu's spirit. I am asking all the brothers to elect another capable man." Finished speaking, he kneeled down in front of the spirit tablet, while lifting high a wooden tablet with both hands. He kowtowed several times before standing up and put down the authority tablet in front of the spirit tablet.

"Li Dage," a man said, "In the past two years, you have handled our Society's affairs clearly and orderly. In my opinion, other than you, who else fit to hold the Xiangzhu position? You don't have to be modest, just pick up the authority tablet again!" Everybody was silent for half a day.

Another man said, "The Xiangzhu position is not for us to decide, we can't simply pick someone and appoint him to be the Xiangzhu. It is for the Zongduozhu to appoint somebody."

The first man replied, "Although it is indeed the custom, the usual practice is that after each Hall reach a decision, we will report it to our leader. Our leader has never turned down anybody. The so-called 'appointment' is nothing more than a routine business."

The other man replied, "As far as Xiongdi knows, the new Xiangzhu of each Hall has always been recommended by the former Xiangzhu. Either when the old Xiangzhu is old, or sick, or on his deathbed and is leaving his last wish. It has never been our customs for the brothers to elect the Xiangzhu replacement."

The first man said, "Yin Xiangzhuwas unfortunate to be harmed by Oboi, how could he leave his last words behind? Jia Laoliu[8], it is not that you did not know this matter, why are you bringing it up now? I understand your intention, you oppose Li Dage to be our Hall's Xiangzhu, you harbor an ill-will, it's a conspiracy."

Hearing the name Jia Laoliu, Wei Xiaobao shivered involuntarily, he remembered the person the salt smugglers in Yangzhou was looking for was precisely this man. Turning his head to look at him, he saw that Jia Laoliu was a bald man, the little pigtail on his head barely had any hair left, there was a scar from a knife cut on his face.

Jia Laoliu angrily said, "What ill-will? What conspiracy? Cui Xiazi[9], speak more clearly, but don't make slanderous accusation against others."

The man surnamed Cui had lost his left eye. "Humph!" he said loudly, "Open the skylight and speak frank and straightforward remarks. In the Green Wood Hall, who did not know that you want to support your brother-in-law[10] Guan Fuzi[11] to be the Xiangzhu. If Guan Fuzi becomes the Xiangzhu, you will become the Lord State Uncle, won't that mean you hold the power in your hands? You want the wind you get the wind, you want the rain you get the rain."

In loud voice Jia Laoliu said, "Whether Guan Fuzi is my brother-in-law or not, it is an entirely different matter. This time we are breaking into Prince Kang's mansion, it was under the leadership of Guan Fuzi, and it was a great success, as well as we returned home victorious. Based on my brother-in-law's talent, can't he be the Xiangzhu? Li Dage qualifies as a senior, his interpersonal relationship is good, I have nothing against him. However, in term of ability, Guan Fuzi is much better."

Cui Xiazi suddenly roared in laughter; a laughter filled with contempt. Jia Laoliu angrily said, “What are you laughing at? Did I say something wrong?”

“It’s not wrong,” Cui Xiazi said with a laugh, “How can our Jia Laoliu said anything wrong? I just feel that Guan Fuzi’s ability is a bit too formidable. He can go over five mountain passes[12], but he cannot behead six generals. At the last moment, he let an outsider, a child, killed our personal archenemy Oboi with a knife.”

Suddenly a man walked out from among the crowd, with an angry expression he stood in front of the spirit tablet. Wei Xiaobao recognized this man as the long-bearded old man who led the attack to Prince Kang’s mansion. He saw his long beard was floating in front of his chest; he looked very imposing. Actually, this man’s surname was Guan, given name Anji. Because of his spirited-looking beard and his surname was Guan, everybody called him Guan Fuzi.

Guan Fuzi’s eyes glowered at Cui Xiazi, with a gruff voice he said, “Cui Xiongdi, if you have a disagreement with Jia Laoliu, you may say anything you like; I, the one surnamed Guan, will not blame you. We are all good brothers, in front of Wan Yunlong Dage’s spirit tablet we have sworn made a pledge that whatever happens we are going to live and die together. You slandered me like that, what is your intention?”

Cui Xiazi was somewhat afraid, he took a step back and said, "I ... I do not dare to slander you." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Guan Erge[13], you ... if you endorse the election of Li Dage to be our Hall's Xiangzhu, then ... then Xiongdi is going to kowtow to you to apologize, just consider me saying wrong words."

With an ashen face Guan Anji said, "Kowtow and apology, how can I dare to accept? Whoever will become our Hall's Xiangzhu, it's not for the one surnamed Guan to decide. Cui Xiongdi, you are not Tian Di Hui's zongduozhu either; who will become the Green Wood Hall's Xiangzhu, it is not for you to say."

Cui Xiazi took another step backward; in a loud voice he said, " Guan Erge, by what you said, isn't it obvious that you are slandering me? What kind of man am I, Cui Xiazi? Even in eighteen reincarnations I would still be short to be Tian Di Hui's zongduozhu. I was only saying that Li Lishi, Li Dage is a person of good moral standing and reputation; in our Hall, there is none like Li Dage, whom people admire from the bottom of their hearts. If we do not ask Li Dage to be our Hall's Xiangzhu, I am afraid eight or nine out of ten brothers may refuse to accept it."

From the crowd someone said, "Cui Xiazi, you are not eight or nine out of ten brothers in our Hall, how do you know eight or nine out of ten brothers may not accept it? In my opinion, Li Dage is indeed a very good man, everybody enjoying having a drink with him, Senior, or having a chat with him under the warm sun; indeed nothing can't be better. However, speaking about being our Hall's Xiangzhu, I am afraid eight or nine out of ten brothers may think otherwise."

Another man said, "Indeed, what Zhang Xiongdi said is very true. What if he is a person of good moral standing and reputation? Our Tian Di Hui objective is fighting the Qing and restoring the Ming, not studying Confucius or speaking about compassion, duty, propriety and integrity. Will a person of good moral standing and reputation scare the Tatars that they would run away? If you want to find a person of good moral standing and reputation, you will find a lot of old xiucai at schools, speaking about poetry and Confucius' sayings all day long." The crowd roared in laughter as they hear this.

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[6] A district of northwest Shanghai.

[7] Ol’ Qi the third.

[8] Ol' Jia the six (see also Chapter 2).

[9] Lit. 'Blind Cui'.

[10] Orig. 'jiefu' - husband of older sister.

[11] Lit. 'Master' Guan, as in 'teacher' or 'scholar'.

[12] The name ‘Guan’ means ‘mountain pass’.

[13] Second older brother.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for another update foxs.

my job is not as glamorous or secretive as you thought. I don't make big bucks

The pasture is always greener on the other side foxs! Doesn't matter how much you make as long as you're happy!

[tweety365]

DOMD fans are more money oriented and practical??? LOL

I like this statement .

foxs, I am actually in the insurance industry. I audit the many different departments and procedures for the company. Thanks a bunch for the new posting!

[nexus]

Thank you for the updates Foxs. I only know the story from the tvb serials. Wow..there is so much more to it.

I am an ex-Singaporean out here in HST land..i.e. Vancouver and work in the Insurance industry as a consultant....say 5 hours/day from 5am to 10am. advantage - no traffic in the morning & do other stuff in the afternoon like kayaking & golf...disadvantage - gotta go bed earlier than others.

[darkcser]

Yeah, most people think of Quant Analyst when I say I am financial analyst. Hours are not so bad - most days are 9 - 6 PM, but month end and QTR end are more like 7 AM - 7 PM, while year end + audit is like all Saturdays during January - mid Feb.

I hope your system came back up soon after your last post!

Thanks
I left work at 1:30am Monday night (well, Tuesday morning). It was really one of those "Oh crap! What happened?" kind of days.

[foxs]

Sky, even though the other side is greener, I don't want to cross over. I entered engineering by choice, this is what I can do well. I am not sure if I can do what you are doing. Tweety, my bad, since you said 'quality, conformance' etc. I thought ... Nexus, welcome, if my memory serves me right, this is your first post in this thread, correct? darkcser, that's a bummer ...
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A Taoist priest said, "In your opinion, who should be our Hall's Xiangzhu?"

The man replied, "First, he must work toward the goal of our Tian Di Hui: fighting the Qing and restoring the Ming. Second, he must strive for our Green Wood Hall so that it will stand out among Tian Di Hui's Halls, managing it 'with sound and color'. Whoever is most capable and most talented among our brethrens, will have our support to be the Xiangzhu."

The Taoist priest said, "Most capable and most talented, in this poor Taoist opinion, Li Dage is still the best."

From the crowd, dozens of people shouted, “We nominate Guan Fuzi! How can Li Dage’s skill be compared to Guan f?”

The Taoist priest said, “Guan f can handle matters powerfully, everybody admires that quality …”

“That’s right,” the crowd called out, “What else do you have to say?”

“Wait a moment, wait a moment, let me finish!” the Taoist priest shook both of his hands, “Guan Fuzi is hot tempered, he often flare up and curse people in anger. Right now he is no more than an ordinary brother, yet when we look at him, we are 30% afraid of him. If he becomes the Xiangzhu, I am afraid we won’t have a day of peace and quite anymore.”

A man said, “Recently Guan Fuzi’s temper has mellowed quite a bit. If he becomes the Xiangzhu, he will be even better.”

The Taoist priest shook his head, “The rivers and mountains are easy to change, a man’s character is much harder to change. Guan Fuzi’s temperament is cultivated over several decades. Granted that he was able to repress it for a while, but can he repress it for a year or half a year? Being the Xiangzhu of Green Wood Hall is an important matter of a lifetime. We can’t allow just because a man’s temperament is not good, the brothers are thrown into disharmony; everybody’s heart will be discouraged, unavoidably the important matter will fail.”

Jia Laoliu said, “Priest Xuanzhen, I think your own temper is not that great either.”

Hearing his words, the Taoist priest, Hao Xuanzhen, laughed aloud and said, “It’s exactly because everybody knows himself best – the poor Taoist’s temper is not good, I have offended too many people – that as much as possible, I do not want to open my mouth. It’s just that electing our Hall’s Xiangzhu is an important matter, the poor Taoist cannot help but must say several sentences. The poor Taoist’s temper is not good, I do not have any problem of not becoming the Xiangzhu. I have no problem if there is any brother who thinks I am not pleasing to the eye, and does not want to talk to me. I am fine if any of you want to distance yourself from me. But if the poor Taoist became the Xiangzhu, how can I ignore you or distance myself from you?”

“Nobody nominates you as the Xiangzhu,” Jia Laoliu said, “Why do you come out and ‘pull to the east and push to the west’ [i.e. ramble incoherently]?”

Xuanzhen flew into rage. “Jia Laoliu,” he said in stern voice, “When friends in Jianghu see the poor Taoist, most of them would address me as Daozhang[14]. Even zongdouzhu shows respect to me. It’s only you who dare to be this rude to me. You … you are a dog threatens relying on your master’s power. You want to bully me, Xuanzhen? It’s not that easy! Let me tell you clearly: if Guan Fuzi wants to be our Hall’s Xiangzhu, I, Xuanzhen, will be the first to disapprove! If he wants to be the Xiangzhu, he must accomplish something first. If this matter is accomplished, it’s possible that the poor Taoist will not oppose him!”

At first, when Jia Laoliu heard him saying ‘a dog threatens relying on your master’s power’, he was very angry, but first: he realized that Priest Xuanzhen’s martial art skill was superior; even though he was really angry, he did not dare to contradict him openly. Second: this Taoist priest indeed had a resounding reputation in Jianghu; that their zongdouzhu showed respect was not a false statement. He wanted to support his brother-in-law to become the Xiangzhu, but if this person strongly opposing the nomination, he would indeed be a major obstacle. Hearing that the Taoist priest was willing not to oppose providing his brother-in-law accomplish something, Jia Laoliu was delighted. He asked, "What matter is that? Let's hear it."

Priest Xuanzhen said, "The first matter that Guan Fuzi has to accomplish is that he must divorce the '100% real gold', Golden Saber Jia!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the people in the hall roared in laughter. The '100% real gold', Golden Saber Jia Priest Xuanzhen mentioned was Guan Fuzi's wife, Jia Laoliu's own older sister. Her weapon was a pair of golden sabers, so when people bantered with her, they often asked her, "Guan Saozi[15], your two golden sabers, are they real gold or fake[16] gold?" And then with a straight face she would reply, "They are 100% gold, 100% gold! How can they be fake?" Thereupon she received the nickname '100% real gold'.

By asking Guan Fuzi to divorce his wife, wouldn't that mean Priest Xuanzhen was clearly trying to make Jia Laoliu look bad? Actually, although the '100% real gold', Golden Saber Jia was a frank and outspoken, she was a good woman. Her brother, Jia Laoliu was not a bad man either, it was just that he was trying to raise his brother-in-law too high. Guan Fuzi was short-tempered, he had offended a lot of people; unavoidably, a lot of people were complaining behind his back.

Guan Anji stretched out his hand and 'bang!' he heavily slap the table, while shouting angrily, "Priest Xuanzhen, what are you talking about? Whether I become the Xiangzhuor not, it doesn't have anything to do with my wife, why did you bring her into this?"

Before Priest Xuanzhen replied, someone in the crowd coldly said, "Guan Fuzi, Yin Xiangzhu did not offend you, why did you hit his spirit table?"

The table Guan Fuzi struck was indeed the table where the memorial tablet was placed. Guan Anji was startled. Although he was irritable, he was actually very quick-witted. In a loud voice he said, "Xiongdi has made a mistake!" He kneeled down in front of the memorial tablet and kowtowed several times, saying, "Yin Dage, in his anger, Xiongdi has slapped your memorial tablet. It is entirely my fault. I am asking your spirit, Senior, in heaven to forgive me." While saying that, 'bang, bang, bang!' he banged his head against the floor several times. Seeing him doing so, most of the people there no longer hold it against him.

Cui Xiazi said, "Everybody, look! Guan Fuziis straightforward and upright, he is a real man, but he is short-tempered and unable to remain calm. When he made a mistake, he would immediately admit it, which is certainly very good. However, if he were the Xiangzhu, making one mistake often carry an enormous responsibility. Even if he readily admit it, what good would it bring?"

Initially, Guan Anji was enjoying a good momentum by asking Priest Xuanzhen why he mentioned his wife, the '100% real gold', Golden Saber Jia; but in his anger, he struck Yin Xiangzhu's memorial tablet, which was offensive to the people. Although he immediately kowtowed in front of Yin Xiangzhu's memorial tablet so that the brethrens no longer blame him, his momentum was gone; he felt it was inconvenient to continue arguing with Priest Xuanzhen.

Xuanzhen himself also seized the opportunity to retreat; he said with a laugh, "Guan Fuzi, you and I are brothers, from the cradle to the grave we go through countless fire and water together. It's not worthwhile that we lose this brotherhood over a battle of the tongues. Just now the poor Taoist was only joking, please forgive me. When you go home, don't tell Golden Saber Jia Saozi about this; otherwise, she would seize the poor Taoist's beard, that won't be fun!" The people broke into laughter again. Guan Anji was 30% afraid of this Taoist priest; without any choice he also laughed.

Afterwards, you said one thing, I said another, some say Li Dage was good, others say Guan Fuzi was better, all along it was difficult to reach the final decision. Suddenly someone was wailing; crying and speaking at the same time, "Yin Xiangzhu, oh Yin Xiangzhu, when you were alive, our Green Wood Hall was in perfect harmony, the brothers are like true blood brothers, everybody worked together for a common purpose, the important matter of fighting the Qing and restoring the Ming. Unfortunately you were harmed by that traitor Oboi. In our Green Wood Hall, there is no one else with your kind of ability: having both good interpersonal relationship and talent. Yin Xiangzhu, unless you rise again from the dead, I am afraid our Green Wood Hall will have endless argument with each other, we will become like a sheet of loose sand, we won't be as prosperous as when you were still alive." Hearing this, many people were unable to refrain from shedding some tears.

Someone said, "Li Dage has Li Dage's advantage, Guan Fuzi has Guan Fuzi's advantage, both are our own good brothers, we can't have all the brothers to be at odds with each other over this Xiangzhu election. In my opinion, it will be best if we ask Yin Xiangzhu's soul in heaven to help us decide. We will write both Li Dage and Guan Fuzi's name, everybody will kowtow in front of Yin Xiangzhu's memorial tablet and then draw the lot. It is the most fair method." Many people voiced their agreement.

Jia Laoliu loudly said, "This method is not good."

"Why is it not good?" someone asked.

"Who will draw the lot?" Jia Laoliu asked.

"We all can select one brother to do it," the man replied.

Jia Laoliu said, "I am afraid that man will have selfish desire and may not play fair."

Cui Xiazi angrily said, "In front of Yin Xiangzhu's memorial tablet, who has such nerve, dare to deceive Yin Xiangzhu's soul in heaven?"

Jia Laoliu said, "It's hard to fathom a person's mind, we must guard against it."

"F*ck your granny," Cui Xiazi cursed, "Most likely it's going to be you who cheat."

Jia Laoliu angrily said, “Who are you cursing at, kid?”

Cui Xiazi was also angry, “I am cursing you, kid! So what?”

“I have shown restraint long enough," Jia Laoliu said, "You cursed my granny, I can't tolerate it no matter what." 'Shua!' he drew his steel saber; with his left hand pointed at Cui Xiazi he shouted, "Cui Xiazi, let us have a duel outside at the courtyard."

Cui Xiazi slowly pulled his saber out and said, "You are the one who wanted a fight, I am forced to take up the challenge. Guan Fuzi, you heard it with your own ears."

Guan Anji said, "We are all brothers, we must not fight just because of this matter. Cui Xiongdi, you cursed my brother-in-law; you are in the wrong here."

Cui Xiazi said, "I knew you would place the blame on me. You have not become the Xiangzhu, you are already like this. If you were the Xiangzhu, what would happen then?"

Guan Anji angrily said, "Are you saying that you can curse other people's ancestor at will? You f*ucked my wife's younger brother's granny, then what am I to you?" The crowd could not help but laughing heartily. For a moment the hall was in chaos.

Seeing his brother-in-law was standing up for him, Jia Laoliu was even more angry. He was about to dash into the courtyard when someone reached out and blocked him, trying to persuade him, "Jia Laoliu, if you want your brother-in-law to become the Xiangzhu, you must not offend other people too much. If someone is offending you, you must yield one step to him."

Cui Xiazi slowly put his saber back into its scabbard, he said, "I am not afraid of you, it's just that we all take yiqi very seriously. Brothers must not fight using blades, staking our lives. In short, Guan Fuzi wants to become the Xiangzhu, I, the one surnamed Cui, will not approve, no matter what. Guan Fuzi's temper I can tolerate, but Jia Laoliu's temper is unbearable. Yan Wang[17] is easy to see, little demon is difficult to bear."

Wei Xiaobao was standing on the side. With the cool eye of a bystander, he found it rather amusing to hear and watch people arguing back and forth endlessly, some used obscenity to curse people, some wanted to fight with weapons. At first he thought these people were Oboi's subordinates who wanted to kill him as a sacrifice to Oboi, but now he knew that they hated Oboi to their bones, it was as if a huge rock had fallen from his heart. But after hearing these people keep saying something like 'fighting the Qing, restoring the Ming', he started to grow anxious. "They must be thinking that I am a little eunuch of the Qing Palace," he mused, "No matter how I plead innocence, they won't believe me. As soon as the Xiangzhu position is decided, their first order of business must be to have me killed. I wonder if they would consider it 'fighting the Qing, restoring the Ming'? In front of them right now, other than laozi, who else is a Qing man? Besides, with me in here, I have heard their secrets; even if they would not kill me to close my mouth, they would definitely lock me up and I won't reincarnate forever. It would be better for laozi to slip away now." Slowly, step by step, he retreated toward the door. He was hoping the hall would become chaotic again so that he could run away.

------------------------------------------------
[14] Taoist Priest.

[15] Older sister-in-law/older brother's wife.

[16] Play on words: the surname 'Jia' sounds like 'false/fake/artificial'.

[17] Yama, King of the underworld.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for another update foxs.

To be honest, I'm a little bored with this part of the story. All I"ve been reading so far is how these non important people keep debating who should be the leader of the Green Wood Hall and it goes round and round and round and now they're back to square one. JY needs to speed this up!