The Deer and The Cauldron

[Ace High]

eunuchs are suppose to serve the royalties....even help them bathe, dress and such. Guards on the other hand only protects and looks after the security.

Just my reasoning and understanding from the numerous movies heh heh heh.

Yerp, exactly.

[sasis]

I've been lurking silently this site for years, and currently registered just recently.
I sense that the translation from this site only catches the sense of 'Asian' feeling. Only the spelling of current pinyin which uses X, Z, and Q, is very strange to our Southeast Asian eyes and ears. One of the prominent professors, Leo Suryadinata, said that Indonesian language can catch over 90% of the 'mainland' sense. Perhaps Vietnamese or Thai languages can do better as those are categorized in the same group of Sino Tibetan languages.

But wuxia literature is more widely spread in my country, Indonesia, than any other country in the region. I have read it since my childhood in 1969.

I have tried to translate several paragraphs from Indonesian to English using Google translation to little avail. However, after editing for sometime, the result is impressive. I did not have to look at dictionaries as most of the words can be 'tuned' to English wuxia sense. If anybody is willing to do heavy editing, the translation will be significantly speedy. (We can get the Indonesian text from Indozone sites).

Compared to Minford's work, Indonesian 'retellers' (translators) are far better in adapting the chinese language into Indonesian than Minford does to English. The result have been for sale 'illegally'. (We had not adopted international copyrights or intellectual property rights when translating wuxia novels was in fashion.

I think Fox rocks.

[foxs]

CFT, thanks, I'll fix it. Athlon ... ouch! It hurts just to read it. It was a sad, sad story. Thanks for the article. Lzydude, I don't know ... You see, if (big IF here) I decide to do it, then I will want to scan the pictures and translate the captions as well. I don't know if I will have the motivation to do that. Sky, I was going to use 'haunted mansion', but I don't want to be sued by Disney. Ace and crazee, thanks for the additional info for eunuchs. I wonder if these people still exist somewhere in the world today? In some monarch, perhaps? Sasis, welcome. I noticed it was your first post.

----------------------------------------------
The men on the horseback loudly laughed and swore, “Laozi is not afraid of haunted house. Evil spirits are the best, we can catch some for dessert.”

Another man shouted, “Quickly lead the way! We are not taking a bath, you think it’s nice to soak in this heavy rain?”

“Gentlemen,” Zhao Laosan said, “The old man does not dislike long life, I do not dare to go. I advise you not to go either. Northwest of here, about thirty li away, there is a small town.”

The men on the horseback all said, “This is such a heavy rain, how can we endure it for thirty more li? Just stop talking nonsense, we have strength in numbers, why do we have to be afraid of some ghosts?”

“Very well,” Zhao Laosan said, “Just go northwest, after rounding a bend, follow the mountain road entering a valley, and walk along that path; you can’t possibly miss …” Without waiting for him to finish, the people urged their horses to gallop toward the northwest. Zhao Laosan was riding a donkey. He hesitated for a moment, and then he pulled the animal’s head and turned it back to the southeast.

“Wu Er Ge [second older brother], Wei Xiangzhu,” Xu Tianchuan asked, “What do we do?”

“I think …” Wu Lishen started, but suddenly remembered that it was Wei Xiaobao who should make the decision; thereupon he said, “I am asking for Wei Xiangzhu’s instruction, what should we do?”

Wei Xiaobao was afraid of ghosts, it’s just that he was unable to say it. He said, “Why don’t Wu Dashu [big uncle] decide? I don’t have any idea.”

“Evil spirit is nothing,” Wu Lishen said, “It’s all country folks talking nonsense. Even if there is indeed a ghost, we can stake everything to fight him.”

“Some ghosts are invisible,” Wei Xiaobao said, “By the time we can see them, it’s already too late.” The implication was clear: he was afraid of ghosts.

Liu Yizhou loudly said, “Why should we fear demons and ghosts? If we are drenched in this rain for one more hour, everybody will be sick.”

Wei Xiaobao saw Mu Jianping was shivering continuously, obviously it was hard for her to endure. He also did not want to show any weakness in front of Fang Yi, and thus lost to Liu Yizhou, thereupon he said, “Alright, let us go together! If we see evil spirit, we must be careful!”

Following Zhao Laosan’s direction, the seven of them went northwest and entered the valley. It was dark and they could not see the road, but through the white curtain of falling rain, they saw cascading water in the forest. Wei Xiaobao said, “We can’t see the road, this is called ‘Ghost Wall’, the evil spirit is bewitching us.”

Xu Tianchuan said, “That cascading water is the road, water from the mountain is flowing down along the mountain path."

“Exactly!” Wu Lishen said, while stepping on the waterfall going upward. The rest of them followed behind him going up the hill.

To the left of them they heard the neigh of the horses, so they knew those dozen or so riders must be on that side. Xu Tianchuan mused, “I wonder what those men’s background is.” But thinking that with he and Wu Lishen joined hands, even a dozen or so ordinary martial art masters should not give them any trouble, thereupon he stepped on the water, climbing up and going down into the forest.

It was even darker inside the forest, they heard the ‘Bang! Bang! Bang!’ of a door being knocked straight ahead, so they knew there was indeed a building out there. Wei Xiaobao was scared but delighted, suddenly he felt someone stretching out a hand to pull his hand, the palm of the hand was soft, and then someone whispered gently on his ear, “Don’t be afraid!” It was none other than Fang Yi.

They heard the knocking continued, but nobody opened the door. The seven of them came near, and saw a wide expanse of a building in the pitch-black night. The riders shouted at the top of their lungs, “Open the door, open the door! We are seeking for shelter from the rain!” But even after shouting for a long while, there was not the least bit of response from inside the house. A man said, “Nobody lives here!” Another man said, “Zhao Laosan said it is a haunted house; who dare to live here? Just jump over the wall!” White light flickered, two men unsheathed their weapons and jumped over the wall, and then they opened the gate from the inside. Everybody rushed in.

Xu Tianchuan thought, “Obviously these men are Wulin people, but apparently their martial art skill is not too high.” The seven of them followed in.

Inside the gate, there was a very big courtyard, further in, there was the main hall. Someone took oilcloth bundle from his pocket, he untied it and took out a fire knife and a flint to light a fire. Seeing a candle on the table in the hall, he lighted it. Suddenly seeing a bright light appeared before their eyes, everybody felt a peal of delight and comfort. They also noticed that the tables, chairs and small side tables in the hall were made of red sandalwood, unexpectedly it was the style of a rich family’s home. Xu Tianchuan mused, “There’s no dust on the furniture, the ground is swept this clean, but how can there be no one in the house?”

He heard one of the men said, “This hall is very clean, someone must have lived here.” Another man raised his voice to call out, “Hello! Hello! Is anybody home? Is anybody home?” The hall was large and the ceiling high, as he shouted, there was a faint echo. When the echo stopped, other than the sound of the rain, all around them there was no other noise. Everybody looked at each other in dismay, they all felt rather strange.

A white-haired elderly man asked Xu Tianchuan, “Are you all Jianghu friends?”

“Zaixia surnamed Xu,” Xu Tianchuan replied, “These several people are my family and relatives. We are going to Shanxi to visit a family; unexpectedly we came across this heavy rain. Daguanye [high-ranking official master], what is your honorable surname?”

The elderly man nodded; seeing there was an old man, a boy and a couple of women among these seven people, he did not feel suspicious at all, but he did not answer the question either. He said, “This house is a little bit strange.”

One of the men shouted, “Is there anybody here? Are you all dead?” He waited for a moment, but still nobody replied.

The elderly man sat on a chair and pointed to six men and said, “The six of you go to the rear and take a look!” The six men pulled out their weapons and went toward the back of the house. Bending down their waists slightly, they walked very slowly inside, their expressions were rather fearful. The people in the hall heard doors being kicked and unceasing shouts of questions, but nothing unusual happened. The noise went farther and farther, obviously the house was enormous, so that for a moment they had not reached the end of it.

The elderly man pointed to four more men and said, “Go find some firewood and make torches, then follow them inside.” The four men complied and left.

Wei Xiaobao and the others, seven people, were sitting on the ledge of a long window in the hall, nobody said anything. Xu Tianchuan noticed that as ten of the men went inside, there were eight people left in the hall, they all wore cloth gowns, their appearance looked like gang members of some underworld gang, or some escorts from an escort agency, except they were not carrying anything to be escorted. For the time being he was unclear of these men’s background.

Wei Xiaobao could not bear not to ask, “Jiejie, do you think there’s ghost in this house?”

Before Fang Yi could answer, Liu Yizhou preceded her by saying, “Of course there is a ghost! What place never has anybody die there? When there are dead people, there will be ghosts.” Wei Xiaobao shivered, he shrank his body smaller. Liu Yizhou continued, “All malicious ghosts in the world bully the virtuous and fear the wicked, especially confused child. Adults’ yang chi [yang (positive, male) life-force or energy flow] is abundant; hangman ghosts, big-head ghosts, all do not dare to provoke adults.”

Fang Yi stretched out her hand from her sleeve to grab Wei Xiaobao’s left hand; she said, “People are afraid of ghosts, but ghosts are even more afraid of people. As soon as there is light, the ghost will run away.”

They heard footsteps, the six people who went inside first had returned to the hall with very strange expression on their faces; all of them talked at once, “Not a single soul in here, but everywhere is swept clean.” “There were beddings on the beds, and shoes under the beds, all women’s.” “All the clothes in the wardrobes are also women’s, there is not a single men’s clothing!”

In a loud voice Liu Yizhou shouted, “Female ghosts! All ghosts in this house are female ghosts!” They all turned their heads to look at him; for a moment, nobody made any noise.

Suddenly they heard strange shouts of the four men who went in later, the elderly man sprang up from his chair. He was just about to rush inside to their rescue when those four men rushed back into the main hall, the torches in their hands were extinguished; they shouted, “Dead men, a lot of dead men!” Their faces had frightened look.

Staying calm and collected, the elderly man said, “Much fuss about nothing. I thought you met with the enemy. Dead men; what’s there to be afraid of?”

“We are not afraid,” one man replied, “It’s just … it’s just bizarre.”

“What’s so bizarre?” the elderly man asked.

Another man replied, “In the east wing, all the rooms are … are mourning hall for dead people; I don’t know how many are there.”

The elderly man hesitated and then asked, “Are there any dead bodies and coffins?”

Two of the men looked at each other, they answered together, “We did not … did not see clearly, perhaps not.”

The elderly man said, “Light more torches, we will go take a look together. Perhaps this is an ancestral hall, which is very common.” Although he tried to play it down, the tone of his voice sounded very apprehensive, apparently he was fully aware that ordinary ancestral hall would not be like this. The men, his subordinates, tore down tables and chairs in the main hall and lighted them as torches, and then they all rushed toward the rear courtyard.

Xu Tianchuan said, “I’ll go to take a look, everybody, please wait here.” And he followed behind the men.

“Shifu,” Ao Biao asked, “Which group [lit. ‘way’] do these people belong to?”

Wu Lishen shook his head, “I can’t see it,” he said, “From their accents, it appears that they are people from Lu Dong, east of Shanhai Pass region, they don’t look like eagle claws of the six-leafed gate. Could they be smugglers? But I did not see them carrying any goods.”

Liu Yizhou said, “Nothing serious about that group of men. On the contrary, the large number of female ghosts in this house maybe very difficult to deal with!” Finished speaking, he stuck his tongue out in the direction of Wei Xiaobao.

Wei Xiaobao shivered, he tightly grip Fang Yi’s hand, his palm was wet with cold sweat. With a trembling voice Mu Jianping said, “Liu … Liu Shige, can you stop scaring other people?”

[Lzydude]

almost time for shuang'er to appear
btw fox, what edition are you translating? 3rd?

[JoeLee]

Wow..Liu Yizhou is quite the a$$....Thx foxs!!

[crazee]

almost time for shuang'er to appear
btw fox, what edition are you translating? 3rd?

eh ?
Will this constitute a spoiler ?

Talking about eunuchs, eunuchs are also used in egypt during the days of Cleopatra and days of the pharahos

[Ace High]

Liu Yi Zhou seemed to be someone who put personal affairs well ahead of the nation. He well knew WXB is someone important in overthrowing the Manchu and re-establishing the Ming movement, yet he still tried to kill WXB. When he was cornered, he instantly begging for mercy, showing his greed for life and being afraid of death.

[aliderhamy]

almost time for shuang'er to appear
btw fox, what edition are you translating? 3rd?

is that the third wife ?

[Lzydude]

is that the third wife ?

yep (third wife we see)

[foxs]

Lzydude, I don't know, the book says 2001. JoeLee, Ace, I agree. Crazee, I was wondering about nowadays, not in the past. I know eunuchs are mentioned even in the Bible. Ali, you really want to know the end of the story, don't you?

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“Xiao Junzhu,” Liu Yizhou said, “You do not need to be afraid, you are a golden branch, jade leaf [nobility], any evil spirit sees you, it will go far away, it won’t dare to disturb you. The ones evil spirits detest the most are neither men nor women, court eunuchs.” Fang Yi raised her willow-shaped eyebrows, her face carried an angry expression, she was about to speak, but in the end she restrained herself.

After a long time, they heard footsteps as everybody returned to the main hall. Wei Xiaobao let out a relieved breath. Xu Tianchuan said in a low voice, “Seven or eight rooms, a total of more than thirty mourning halls. Each mourning hall has five or six sacrificial offerings, seven or eight memorial tablets. It looks like each mourning hall is dedicated to dead people of one family.”

“Hey, hey,” Liu Yizhou said, “Won’t that mean this house has several hundred evil spirits?”

Xu Tianchuan shook his head; he was an experienced and knowledgeable man, but he had never heard of such a strange thing. A moment later, he slowly said, “The strangest thing is that in front of each mourning hall there was a lighted candle.” Wei Xiaobao, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping, three people cried out in fear together.

One of the men said, “When we went in before, the candles were clearly not lighted.”

“Are you sure?” the elderly man asked. The four men looked at each other, they all shook their heads.

The elderly man said, “It’s not ghost. We are encountering a person of high skill. In an instant he was able to light more than thirty candles on the mourning halls; his movement must be very fast. Xu Laoyezi, don’t you think so?” The last sentence was addressed to Xu Tianchuan.

Xu Tianchuan feigned ignorance; he said, “Perhaps we have offended the master of this house. There is no harm … no harm in us going to the mourning hall and … and kowtow several times.”

Amidst the noise of the rain, from the east wing suddenly came the sound of several women wailing, the voice was very mournful; although the sound of the heavy rain was very loud, these wailings could be heard very clearly. Wei Xiaobao was so scared that his mouth was wide open and he was speechless, his countenance changed greatly. Everybody else looked at each other in shock, they were all absolutely horrified. A moment later, from the west wing came the sound of a woman weeping in grief. Liu Yizhou, Ao Biao, as well as two of the men cried out together, “Weeping Ghost!”

“Humph!” the elderly man snorted; suddenly he said in a loud voice, “We are passing by your residence and stop by to take shelter from the rain, and thus trespass your precious residence. I hereby apologize. Would worthy host be willing to grant this request?” His voice was backed by abundant chi, it could travel very far.

After a long time, there was not the slightest response from the back. The elderly man shook his head, and then in a loud voice said, “Since the host is not willing to receive uncouth guests, we have no choice but to disturb without permission. We are taking shelter from the rain in this hall. As soon as it is dawn and the rain stops, everybody will hasten on our journey.” Finished speaking, he made a hand signal telling everybody not to make any noise, while he inclined his head sideways to listen.

A long time passed, they no longer heard the sound of wailing or weeping. A man said in low voice, “Zhang Sanye [third master], I don’t care if he is a human or a ghost, come daybreak, we’ll set fire and burn this damn house to the ground.”

The elderly man shook his hand and said, “We have not accomplished our important mission, we must not add another problem. Sit down and rest!”

Everybody’s clothes was wet, thereupon they built fire in the main hall. Someone took out a wine gourd, pulled the plug and handed it over to the elderly man to drink.

The elderly man drank several mouthful of wine, then he cast a sidelong glance to Xu Tianchuan for half a day before saying, “Xu Laoyezi, you are all from one family, how come your accents are not the same? You are from the Capital, but these several people are from Yunnan?”

Xu Tianchuan laughed and said, “Laoyezi has very good hearing, obviously you are a Jianghu veteran. My oldest Meizi [younger sister] got married in Yunnan. This is my Meifu [younger sister’s husband].” He pointed to Wu Lishen, and then continued, “My Meifu and their children are Yunnan people. My second Meizi got married in Shanxi. Southern sky, northern earth [meaning: far apart], for several decades we rarely see each other even for once. This time we are going to Shanxi to visit my second Meizi.” When he called Wu Lishen his Meifu, he was actually honoring him. At that time, according to custom of the people of northern China, calling people ‘older maternal uncle’ or ‘younger maternal uncle’ was considered cursing him.

The elderly man nodded. He drank another mouthful of wine. Squinting his eyes, he said, “Are you all from Beijing?”

“Exactly,” Xu Tianchuan replied.

The elderly man said, “Along the way, did you see a thirteen, fourteen years old little eunuch?”

As soon as he said that, Xu Tianchuan and the others’ heart skipped a beat; fortunately the elderly man had his gaze only toward Xu Tianchuan. But Xu Tianchuan’s face did not reveal anything. Ao Biao and Mu Jianping’s countenances changed, but nobody paid them any attention. Xu Tianchuan said, “Did you say eunuch? In Beijing, old eunuchs, little eunuchs, there are so many of them. As soon as I left home, I would come across several eunuchs."

The elderly man said, "I asked you if you saw one along the way, not in Beijing."

Xu Tianchuan laughed and said, "Laoyezi, that is out of question. According to the Great Qing's rule, when an eunuch leaves the Capital, he is committing a major crime. Court eunuchs are not like during the Ming Dynasty, with full power and prestige; nowadays, which eunuch dares to leave the Capital for even one step?"

"Oh," the elderly man said, "Perhaps he is in disguise?"

Xu Tianchuan repeatedly shook his head, "I don't think he has that kind of guts!" he said. After a short pause, he asked, "Laoyezi, which little eunuch are you looking for? When I return to Beijing after visiting my relatives in Shanxi, I can help you make the inquiry."

"Humph, humph," the elderly man said, "Thank you very much, but I am not sure if I will live that long." Finished speaking, he closed his eyes and no longer speak.

Xu Tianchuan thought, "He is inquiring about a thirteen, fourteen year's old little eunuch; isn't that Wei Xiangzhu? These men are not from Tian Di Hui or Mu Palace, eight or nine out of ten, they do not have any good intention, I must investigate clearly. He does not ask further, we must ask him further." Thereupon he said, "Laoyezi, among the little eunuchs in Beijing, only one is very famous. His great name has spread all over the world, I believe you have also heard about him, he is the one who killed that treacherous minister Oboi, the one who set up great merit."

The elderly man opened his eyes and said, "Mm, are you talking about Xiao Guizi, Gui Gong-gong?"

"Who else but him?" Xu Tianchuan said, "This man has guts and is very brave, exceptionally skillful in martial arts, he is really amazing!"

"What does he look like?" the elderly man asked, "Have you seen him?"

"Ha," Xu Tianchuan said, "This Gui Gong-gong strolls around Beijing streets every day. Among Beijing people, I am afraid only a few have never seen him. This Gui Gong-gong is dark and fat, he is quite a plump fellow, he is at least seventeen, eighteen years old; nobody would take him for a fourteen-year-old."

Fang Yi's hand, which was holding Wei Xiaobao's hand tightened; Mu Jianping gently nudged his back with her elbow, they were laughing in their hearts. At first Wei Xiaobao was afraid of the ghosts, but as he heard the elderly man inquiring about himself, he was so busy scheming in his heart that he forgot his fear of the ghosts.

"Is that right?" the elderly man said, "What I heard is quite different. I heard this Gui Gong-gong is only thirteen, fourteen-year-old little boy, very crafty and smart; perhaps he looks 30% like your nephew [orig. wai sheng - sister's son or wife's sibling's son]. Ha ha, ha ha!" While saying that, he looked at Wei Xiaobao.

Liu Yizhou suddenly said, "I heard that Xiao Guizi is despicable and shameless; all he can do is using the knockout drugs. He was able to kill Oboi, because he had used the drug first, otherwise, this little thief is a coward and afraid of ghosts, how could he succeed in killing Oboi?" Turning to Wei Xiaobao, he chuckled and said, "Cousin [orig. biaodi - younger maternal cousing], don't you agree?"

Wu Lishen was angry; he sent a backhand palm toward Liu Yizhou's face. Liu Yizhou lowered his head to evade, his left foot sprang, his body rose up. Wu Lishen's backhand palm strike was the move 'jade fowl spreading its wings', Liu Yizhou's dodging and springing up was the move 'golden horse neighing into the wind'; both styles belonged to the Mu Family Fist Technique. One struck rapidly, the other dodged quickly, unwittingly they both used their school's unique skills.

The elderly man surnamed Zhang suddenly sprang up and said with a laugh, "Good! You all disguise yourselves really well!" As soon as he stood up, the dozen or so of his men also sprang up. The elderly man barked his order, "Take them all! Don't let even a single one escape!"

Wu Lishen pulled out a short saber from his bosom, his big head shook to the left, he hacked down a man, he shook to the right, the saber cut another man's throat, sending him down to the ground.

The elderly man drew a pair of judge-pens from his waist; brandishing them together, the pens made swishing noise. The left-hand pen pointing toward Wu Lishen's throat, the right-hand pen moved toward the pit of Xu Tianchuan's stomach. With one move attacking two people, his movement was very fast.

Xu Tianchuan dashed to the right, his left hand clawed a man's eyes. As the man tossed his head back to evade, the saber in his hand was snatched away, suddenly he felt sharp pain on his waist as his own saber had penetrated his own belly. On the other side, Ao Biao was fighting with a man. After hesitating slightly, Liu Yizhou untied his flexible whip and charged forward to join the battle.

Although the other side had more people, the elderly man was the only one who could face Wu Lishen in an evenly matched battle, the rest of them only had mediocre martial art skill. Wei Xiaobao could see this small advantage clearly; he thought, "As long as I don't come across that old tortoise, I might be able to handle the rest of them." Holding the dagger in his hand, he wanted to charge forward.

Fang Yi pulled his back and said, "Our victory is decided, you don't have to help."

Wei Xiaobao mused, "I know our victory is decided, which was why I went forward. If we would definitely be lost, why would I wait here and not run away quickly?"

[Lzydude]

sorry to bother you again fox, but the book is in chinese right? does the cover have the words "新版" or "新修版"? second edition is the 2-character word, third edition is the 3-character word

[pannonian]

Fang Yi pulled his back and said, "Our victory is decided, you don't have to help."

Wei Xiaobao mused, "I know our victory is decided, which was why I went forward. If we would definitely be lost, why would I wait here and not run away quickly?"

[tweety365]

Haha, WXB is such a funny coward. So different from LYZ, who is cowardly in an annoying way. Thanks foxs!

[aliderhamy]

Haha, WXB is such a funny coward. So different from LYZ, who is cowardly in an annoying way. Thanks foxs!

This is exactly how I used to feel as a kid.

whats the point in fighting a disadvantagous fight.

wait for your oppertunity and have fun

[Ace High]

LYZ is a stupid coward. He didn't know when he should keep his mouth shut. His words which showed how petty minded he is will only distance FY from him even further. Worse, he endangered the entire party's life just so he can scold WXB.

[crazee]

The saying " It's enough to be smart but don't be too smart " Our hero is smart and he knows when to be smart unlike LYZ. It is said that Eunuchs still exist in India, but I seriously doubt they are the real castrated type...

Thanks Foxs, enjoying the translations and in the meantime rereading LOCH.....some also done by you right ? Just imagine how much I will miss without you people translating......

[Ace High]

It is said that Eunuchs still exist in India, but I seriously doubt they are the real castrated type...

You are referring to the hijras. Historically, they were the real castrated type. Nowadays, less than 10% are castrated.

[JoeLee]

lol...wxb cracks me up! thx for update foxs!

[foxs]

Lzydude, the cover does not have either, other than Jin Yong's name and the title, it says 'Guangzhou edition'. My brother bought the books in Singapore this past summer. Can you tell me the difference(s) between first and second, and second and third edition? This is the first time I ever read the book. I wasn't even aware there are multiple editions. I thought Jin Yong only revised the Condor Trilogy. Pannonian, Tweety, Ali, JoeLee ... I don't remember seeing this kind of details in Minford's book. Crazee, Ace, how can you guys know so much? Yes, I was part of the team working on all three books. Glad you are enjoying it.

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Suddenly they heard several swishing noise in succession, the elderly man had jumped to the side, the pair of judge-pens in his hands were rubbing against each other, the men under his command quickly squeezed behind him, very soon they had formed a square. With only several steps these men were able to move into position; more than a dozen men moved together without pushing each other, or colliding with each other, indicating that they had been trained very well and had spent a lot of time in this formation.

Xu Tianchuan and Wu Lishen were startled, they withdrew several steps back. Ao Biao charged forward courageously. Suddenly from the square formation four sabers went out together, two hacked toward his shoulder, two hacked toward his leg; the coordination was really ingenious. Simultaneously, two spears coming out of the formation to meet Ao Biao's saber. "Ah!" Ao Biao cried out, his shoulder was hit by a saber.

"Biao'er, step back!" Wu Lishen called out anxiously. Ao Biao leaped backward to evade. In the blink of an eye, victory or defeat was suddenly reversed.

Xu Tianchuan stood in front of Wei Xiaobao and the two ladies to protect them; he was watching carefully how their opponents were using this formation. He saw the elderly man raised the judge-pen in his right hand and loudly called out, "Hong Jiaozhu won't be old for ten thousand years, he will forever enjoy the immortal good-fortune! His long-life is the same as the Heaven's, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!"

The dozen or so of his men raised their weapons together and cried out, "Hong Jiaozhu's long-life is the same as the Heaven's, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!" Their voices shook the roof-tiles; they appeared as if they were possessed.

Xu Tianchuan was aghast; he was wondering what kind of trick they were playing. As Wei Xiaobao heard the three words 'Hong Jiaozhu', he suddenly remembered Tao Hongying's terrified expression when she was mentioning those words. He blurted out, "Shen Long Jiao! They are from Shen Long Jiao!"

The elderly man's countenance changed. "You also know Shen Long Jiao's reputation!" he said. Lifting high his right hand, he shouted, "Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive. Our Cult triumphs in every battle, wins every fight, no stronghold we cannot overcome, no opponent we cannot broken down. The enemy flees at mere distant sight, they will escape without a trace."

As Xu Tianchuan and the others heard each sentence, their heart trembled. They thought that these people's action was totally weird, they had never seen anything like this before; facing the enemy, unexpectedly they recited some writing in loud voice.

Wei Xiaobao called out, "These men chanting incantations, don't fall into their trick! Everybody charge forward to kill!"

They heard the elderly man and his men chanting quicker and quicker; it was no longer the elderly man chanted one verse and his men followed one verse, but those more than a dozen men chanting together, "Hong Jiaozhu's magical power protects and blesses, his disciples' courage increases a hundredfold, one can fight a hundred, a hundred can fight ten thousand. Hong Jiaozhu's divine eyes are like lightning, illuminating four directions. Our disciple who kills the enemy and protects the Cult, Hong Jiaozhu considers him to be his kin, promotes him into the priesthood. Our disciple who dies in protecting the Cult will rise into the paradise!" Suddenly, with a loud shout they charged forward.

Wu Lishen, Xu Tianchuan and the others raised their weapons to meet the attack, but unexpectedly this time these men's martial art had advanced greatly; each hack of the saber, each thrust of the spear, was several times stronger than before. Like fools or mad people, they brandished their weapons randomly. Not too long afterward, Ao Biao and Liu Yizhou were cut down. One by one Wei Xiaobao, Fang Yi and Mu Jianping were also thrown down. Fang Yi suffered a leg injury, while Mu Jianping was wounded on her arm. Wei Xiaobao's back was also stabbed by a spear, luckily he was protected by his treasured vest, so that the spear did not enter his body; however, the incoming force was too heavy that he was unable to withstand and tumbled down to the ground. Before long, one after another Wu Lishen and Xu Tianchuan were also wounded. The elderly man stretched out his finger and successively sealed the vital acupoints on their bodies.

The men shouted together, "Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!" Finished shouting, they suddenly sat down together. Sweats gushed out of each man's forehead like spring, their breathing was heavy, as if they were utterly exhausted. In this battle, victory or defeat was decided in less than the time needed to drink a cup of tea, but it was as if these men had fought a hard battle for several hours.

Wei Xiaobao groaned silently; he thought, "Turns out these people know witchcraft, no wonder when mentioning Shen Long Jiao, Tao Gugu was so frightened like that. Indeed their magical power is extensive."

The elderly man sat on a chair and closed his eyes to regain his composure. It was quite a while later that he finally stood up. After wiping the perspiration on his forehead, he then paced back and forth in the main hall. Quite a while later, his men started to stand up one by one.

The elderly man turned toward Xu Tianchuan and the others and said, "All of you recite after me together! Listen up, I recite a sentence, you follow a sentence. Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!"

Xu Tianchuan cursed, "Demonical crooked people, dress up as God, play the devil; you want laozi to follow you playing tricks? In your mother's clear autumn night's dream!" The elderly man raised his judge-pen to strike Xu Tianchuan's forehead. 'Bang!' blood gushing out from the wound. Xu Tianchuan cursed, "Dog thief, sorcerer!"

The elderly man asked Wu Lishen, "Are you going to recite or not?" Wu Lishen shook his head before answering. The elderly man raised his judge-pen again to strike his forehead.

When he asked Ao Biao, Ao Biao cursed, "Your granny's long-life is the same as the dog's!"

The elderly man was furious, his judge-pen struck down powerfully, Ao Biao immediately fainted. Wu Lishen shouted, "Biao'er is a real man! You who only know how to use witchcraft, damn it, if you have guts, just kill us all."

The elderly man raised his judge-pen and asked Liu Yizhou, "Are you going to recite or not?"

"I ... I ... I ..." Liu Yizhou stammered.

"Say it," the elderly man said, "Hong Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's!"

Liu Yizhou said, "Hong Jiaozhu's ... Hong Jiaozhu's ..."

The elderly man lightly poked Liu Yizhou's forehead with the tip of his judge-pen; he shouted, "Quickly recite it!"

"Yes, yes," Liu Yizhou said, "Hong Jiaozhu's ... Hong Jiaozhu's long-life is the same as the Heaven's!"

The elderly man laughed aloud and said, "Finally, someone who knows how to take advantage of this matter. You, this kid, may receive less pain." Walking toward Wei Xiaobao, he shouted, "Little demon, recite after me."

Wei Xiaobao said, "I don't need you to recite."

"What?" the elderly man angrily said. He raised his judge-pen.

In loud voice Wei Xiaobao recited, "Wei Jiaozhu's magical power is extensive, his long-life is the same as the Heaven's, he will forever enjoy the immortal good-fortune. Wei Jiaozhu triumphs in every battle, wins every fight, no stronghold Wei Jiaozhu cannot overcome, no opponent Wei Jiaozhu cannot broken down. Wei Jiaozhu elevates everybody, everybody will ascend to paradise ..."

When saying 'Wei Jiaozhu', the word 'Wei' was spoken vaguely, it was no more than a grunt from his nostril actually; but the elderly man did not realize he was playing a trick, he thought Wei Xiaobao was saying 'Hong Jiaozhu'. Hearing Wei Xiaobao recited several lines in succession, he laughed aloud and praised him, "This child is exceptionally smart." He walked over to Fang Yi and put his hand on her chin, saying, "Hmm, this little girl's appearance is not bad. Now repeat after me nicely."

Fang Yi turned her head around. "I won't recite!" she said.

The elderly man raised his judge-pen to strike, but when he saw her beautiful face under the candle light, he could not bear to do it, so he aimed the tip of the pen to her cheek and loudly said, "Are you going to recite or not? If you say 'I won't recite' one more time, I am going to draw three lines on your cheek."

Fang Yi stubbornly refused to recite, but she did not dare to say those words 'I won't recite' out loud. "Are you going to recite or not?" the elderly man asked again.

Wei Xiaobao said, "Let me recite it for her. I guarantee it will be more pleasant to hear than if she is reciting it herself."

"Who ask you to recite for her?" the elderly man said. Raising his judge-pen, he struck Fang Yi's forehead.

"Ah!" Fang Yi cried out in pain.

Suddenly someone laughed and said, "Zhang Sanye, if this little girl does not want to recite, we can strip her clothes." The rest of the men cried out together, "Wonderful, wonderful! That's a great idea."

Liu Yizhou suddenly said, "Why would you want to bully this girl? You want to find the little eunuch, I know where he is."

"Do you?" the elderly man hastily asked, "Where is he? Tell me quickly, tell me quickly!"

Liu Yizhou said, "You must promise not to bother this miss, I will tell you. Otherwise, even if you kill me, I won't say anything."

"Shige," Fang Yi sharply said, "I don't need you to care about me."

The elderly man laughed. "Alright," he said, "I promise you I won't bother this miss."

"You have to keep your words," Liu Yizhou said.

The elderly man said, "What I say, naturally the man surnamed Zhang will keep it. That little eunuch is the one who killed Oboi, the one most favored and trusted by the Emperor, Xiao Guizi. Do you really know where he is?"

Liu Yizhou said, "Far in the horizon, but close in front of your eyes!"

The elderly man jumped up; pointing to Wei Xiaobao he said, "Is ... is ... is it him?" His face showed a mixture of surprise and delight.

Fang Yi said, "He is such a child, how can he kill Oboi? Don't listen to his nonsense."

Liu Yizhou said, "That's right, if he did not use knockout drug, how could he kill the number one warrior of Manchuria, Oboi?"

The elderly man was half believing, half doubting; he asked Wei Xiaobao, “Did you or did you not kill Oboi?”

“What if I did?” Wei Xiaobao said, “And what if I did not?”

“Your granny,” the elderly man cursed, “When I looked at you, I knew this little demon is rather demonical. Search him first, we’ll talk later.”

Two of his men immediately stepped forward and untied the bundle Wei Xiaobao carried on his back; they set each article on the table. The elderly man saw pearls, gold and jade, and all kinds of valuables. “This is definitely the goods from the Imperial Palace,” he said, “Uh … what is this?” He picked a thick wad of banknotes, and saw that each note worth either five hundred taels or one thousand taels; altogether there were no less than several hundred thousand taels. He could not help but was stupefied; he said, “Definitely not wrong, you … you are Xiao Guizi. Take him to the room that side of the building to be interrogated.”

Fang Yi anxiously said, “Don’t … don’t make things difficult for him.” ‘Wah!’ Mu Jianping broke out and cried.

A man grabbed the back of Wei Xiaobao neck, two men picked the valuables from the table, another man took the candlestick and led them all toward the eastern wing of the rear courtyard. The elderly man waved his hand and said, “All of you get out!” The four men left the room and closed the door behind them.

Beaming with joy, the elderly man did not stop rubbing his hands together while he paced back and forth along the room. He said with a laugh, “Seeking around until the iron shoes are worn out but fail to find, without spending any effort the result is obtained. Xiao Guizi Gong-gong, to be able to meet you here today, it is indeed the good fortune of three lifetimes.”

[Lzydude]

apparently, all of jin yong's books have 3 editions. since it was released in 2001, i think it is the second. as for the differences, i don't think there was much, as the story was really long like tian long ba bu