The Deer and The Cauldron

[foxs]

Ali, Lzydude, Athlon, like Sky said 'divine silver tongue skill' ... Crazee, I too, am looking forward to more exciting part, i.e. the part the authorized version skipped. Anyway, this is the end of Chapter 19.

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At this moment, the mountain path narrowed, so that Mr. Lu was unable to walk side by side with the Fat Toutuo, he fell about a zhang behind. Fat Toutuo put his mouth next to Wei Xiaobao's ear and said in a low voice, "Where is your copy of 'Forty-two-chapter Sutra'?"

"I don't have it with me," Wei Xiaobao replied.

"Do you have to tell me that?" the Fat Toutuo said, "I have already searched you everywhere. Where is it?"

"The Eighteen Luohan of Shaolin Temple have the sutra, naturally they gave it to their Abbot," Wei Xiaobao replied. He thought that since this thin bamboo pole toutuo was not a match for the Shaolin's Eighteen Luohan, if he heard that the sutra was in the hands of the Abbot of Shaolin Temple, naturally he would not dare to demand the sutra from the Abbot; even if he dared to demand it, he would definitely be expelled by those Shaolin monks.

That day the Fat Toutuo had personally handed the sutra over into Monk Cheng Xin's hand, he did not have the slightest suspicion to Wei Xiaobao's words. He said in a low voice, "When we see Jiaozhu in a moment, you must never mention this matter. Otherwise Jiaozhu might force you to hand over the sutra, and when you cannot give it to him, Jiaozhu will definitely throw you into the vipers' nest."

Wei Xiaobao could hear the fear in his voice, not only that, evidently the Fat Toutuo was afraid Mr. Lu would hear him; thereupon he said, "Clearly it was you who seized the sutra from me, and then you gave it to the Shaolin monks, if Jiaozhu finds out, he would definitely throw you into the vipers' nest. Humph, humph, even if he won't punish you for the time being, he would definitely send you to Shaolin Temple to get the sutra back; that would be enough punishment for you."

The Fat Toutuo shivered without saying anything. Wei Xiaobao said, "The two of us will deal with this matter together. Whatever happens, you take care of me, I will also take care of you. Otherwise, we split up, and we'll perish together."

From behind Mr. Lu suddenly interrupted, "What split up and perish together?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "The three of us will enjoy blessing and endure misfortune together." Thinking that right now they were in a messy situation, he must not lose his wits; if he could implicate these two martial art masters, he would have a slightly better chance of survival.

The Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu did not say anything. A moment later, they both heaved a deep sigh together.

After walking for the time needed to eat rice, they arrived at the peak. They saw four youngsters in black, hand in hand, came near, each person carried a long sword on his back. The one furthest to the left asked, "Fat Toutuo, what is this little child doing in here?"

The Fat Toutuo let Wei Xiaobao down; he said, "Jiaozhu's order: he is being summoned."

From the west came three young girls in red, laughing and giggling; they also carried long swords on their backs. Seeing the three people, they came over to meet them. A girl said with a laugh, "Fat Toutuo, is he your illegitimate child?" While saying that, she pinched Wei Xiaobao's cheek.

"Miss must be joking," the Fat Toutuo said, "This child is being summoned by Jiaozhu, the Senior, there is an important matter he'd like to ask him."

Another girl with round face pinched Wei Xiaobao's right cheek and said with a laugh, "Looking at this baby's appearance, he must be Fat Toutuo's illegitimate child. You can't deny it."

Wei Xiaobao was angry. "I am your illegitimate child," he shouted, "You and Fat Toutuo are having an illicit intercourse and you gave birth to me."

The girls were startled, and then they burst out in laughter. The round-faced girl's turned deep read. She spat and said, "Little demon, you are asking for death!" She raised her hand to strike. Wei Xiaobao leaned his head sideways to dodge. Right this moment more than a dozen young people, boys and girls, had heard the noise and rushed in to tease the round-faced girl. The girl was ashamed and angry, her left foot flew up, she gave Wei Xiaobao's buttocks a hard kick.

"Ma," Wei Xiaobao called out loudly, "Why did you beat your son?" The youngsters laughed even louder.

'Dang, dang, dang!' suddenly the bell tolled; everybody fell silent immediately. These young boys and girls, about twenty in total, rushed toward the bamboo building. Fat Toutuo said, "Jiaozhu is calling an assembly." To Wei Xiaobao he said, "When you see Jiaozhu, you must not speak any nonsense."

Wei Xiaobao saw his melancholy expression. Those youngsters were rather rude toward him; thinking that his martial art skill was extremely high, why would he be afraid of these teenage babies? He could not help but having a pity on him somewhat; thereupon he nodded his head.

He saw from all directions people were streaming into the bamboo building. The Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu also took Wei Xiaobao into the building. Crossing a corridor, suddenly a large hall appeared before his eyes. This hall was incomparably huge, it was big enough to hold a thousand people assembly. Wei Xiaobao had lived in the Imperial Palace in Beijing for quite a long time, even an assembly hall bigger than this one would not impress him. But this hall was really gigantic, as soon as he saw it, he could not help but had a feeling of respect.

He saw groups of teenagers, boys and girls, wearing five different colors standing on five different locations. The groups wearing blue, white, black, yellow, four colors were all boys, the group wearing red was all girls. Each one carried a long sword on his or her back, each group had approximately a hundred people. On the other end of the big hall there were two bamboo chairs standing side by side, draped in brocade cushion. On both sides of the chair stood several dozen people, men and women; the younger ones were approximately thirty years old, the old ones were about sixty, seventy years old, not one of them carried any weapon. There were about five, six hundred people gathered in the hall, but unexpectedly not the least bit of sound was heard, not even a single cough. Wei Xiaobao cursed in his heart, "Damn it, what an air! You think you are having an audience with the Emperor or what?"

After quite a while, the bells tolled again nine times, there were footsteps from the inner hall. “The ghost Jiaozhu is out,” Wei Xiaobao mused. Who would have thought that ten men came out, all were in their thirties, they wore five different colors clothes, and then they stood on either side of the chairs, five colors on each side.

After another long while, the bells and the drums were struck together loudly, followed by the tinkling of several hundred small silver bells. Everybody in the hall kneeled down together and chorused, “Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life the same as the heaven’s.”

The Fat Toutuo pulled Wei Xiaobao’s lapel, telling him to kneel down. Wei Xiaobao did not have any choice but kneeling down. He stole a glance and saw a man and a woman came out from the inner hall and sat on the chairs. Another bell stroke, everybody slowly stood up.

The man looked very old, the white hair from his temples drooped down to his chest, his face was full of scars and wrinkles, he looked very ugly; Wei Xiaobao presumed this must be the Cult Leader. The woman, on the other hand, was a good-looking young woman. Looking at her appearance, she was no older than twenty two or twenty three, she was smiling slightly, overflowing with charming attitude, and was incomparably gorgeous. Wei Xiaobao praised in his heart, “She is exceedingly smart-looking! This woman is more beautiful than that Good Jiejie of mine. Even in the Imperial Palace or Lovely Spring Courtyard, there is no woman as pretty as she is.”

A man wearing black clothes on the left took two steps forward; holding a piece of dark green paper with both hands he read loudly, “Respectfully reading Hong Jiaozhu’s treasured teaching, whose compassion and kindness illuminate everything, whose power encompasses four directions: ‘Numerous aspirations work as one will be able to build the city, incomprehensible might shakes the world!’”

The crowd in the hall repeated in chorus, “Numerous aspirations work as one will be able to build the city, incomprehensible might shakes the world!”

Wei Xiaobao was mesmerized with the beautiful woman, the voices of the crowd chanting together had startled him that he jumped in fright.

The man in black clothes continued reading, “Jiaozhu’s immortal good fortune is as high as the sky, illuminating the heads of the devoted cult members. Jiaozhu sails the boat steadily for ten thousand years, riding the wind breaking the waves to show off his heroic bravery! Flying to the sky, the divine dragon looks up at him with hope, Jiaozhu’s prestige covers the eight directions. Everybody lives because Jiaozhu lives, everybody dies because Jiaozhu dies, Jiaozhu’s order is to be followed, Jiaozhu is like the light of the sun and the moon!”

As the man read one sentence, the crowd followed by reciting one sentence. Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, “What Hong Jiaozhu’s teaching? A loud blow of his own horn. Our Tian Di Hui’s secret verse is much more pleasant to hear that this.”

When they finished reciting, everybody shouted in one voice, “With Jiaozhu’s treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable!” Those young boys and girls were particularly enthusiastic in shouting their creeds. Hong Jiaozhu’s ugly face carried an indifferent expression, while the beautiful woman by his side recited with a smile on her face.

Finished reciting, the hall fell into complete silence.

Book note:

When the powerful troops of Luo Shaowei of the late Tang Dynasty took the towns of Wei prefecture, he commanded his five thousand elite troops to kill everything. Afterwards he felt a deep remorse, realizing that he had committed an enormous mistake; he said, “In the forty-three counties of six prefectures, we cannot make the same mistake.” During the time of Wang Mang [usurped power and reign 9-23 AD, between the former and later Han periods], he cast cooper and iron money into a saber, he then carved characters plated with gold on it, and called the saber ‘Cuo Dao’ [wrong/mistake saber]. Luo Shaowei used the ‘Cuo’ character of the ‘Cuo Dao’ as an analogy of his ‘mistake’, saying that it was such a big mistake that even he amassed all the iron in the forty-three counties of six prefectures, it would be difficult to cast the metal. ‘Nine divisions amass metal to be cast in a row’, the word ‘a row’ is comparable to a big ‘mistake’; the chapter’s title borrows this expression to describe Wei Xiaobao being deceived into coming to the Divine Dragon Island, but without any regret.

During the Warring States period, the Qin State carried out the Shang Yang political reform. Afraid that the people would not obey the reform, they set up a three zhang long wood at the southern gate, claiming that if anybody could move it out of the northern gate, he would be rewarded fifty taels of gold; no one believed it. There was a man who tried to move the wood, and sure enough, Shang Yang rewarded him with the money, thereupon everybody believed. Shang Yang’s legislation was rigorous, the people did not dare to disobey.

[Ace High]

if i'm not mistaken, Qin's political reform was carried out by Shang Yang

[pannonian]

if i'm not mistaken, Qin's political reform was carried out by Shang Yang

Shang Yang

Shang Yang (Chinese: 商鞅; pinyin: Shāng Yāng; Wade–Giles: Shang Yang, 390 BC – 338 BC) was an important statesman of the State of Qin during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. Born Wei Yang (simplified Chinese: 卫鞅; traditional Chinese: 衛鞅) in the State of Wei, with the support of Duke Xiao of Qin Yang enacted numerous reforms in Qin. These were in accordance with his legalist philosophy as recorded in The Book of Lord Shang and assisted Qin in its change from a peripheral state to that of a militarily powerful and strongly centralized kingdom. He changed the administration of the state through an emphasis on meritocracy and devolvement of power from the nobility.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for the update foxs.

[KChill]

This does a much better job of describing the Cult Leader's wife's beauty.

[crazee]

This does a much better job of describing the Cult Leader's wife's beauty.

Yep... This is the first time I get to read that cult leader's wife is that beautiful. The serials, other translations did not portray that beauty and I was of the impression that she is just beautiful compared to Fang Yi...

Way to go Foxs, thanks, I feel more exciting actions coming up....

.... really love the icons..

[tweety365]

Yeah, especially after witnessing the actress that played the role in the tvb '84 version. Eeesh . The impression I got as a child stuck with me after all these years.

Thank you, foxs!

click to show/hide spoilers

Now I'm curious to read how Jing Yong describes Ah Ke and if WXB's reactions to her beauty are as over the top as in the adaptations.

[pannonian]

Yep... This is the first time I get to read that cult leader's wife is that beautiful. The serials, other translations did not portray that beauty and I was of the impression that she is just beautiful compared to Fang Yi...

Way to go Foxs, thanks, I feel more exciting actions coming up....

.... really love the icons..

Try the 2008 version.

[smurf120]

When I was little I always thought Cult Leader Hong was older than his wife, but now I realized the significance that the cult leader was probably in his 60's while his wife is 22-23. Ickkk

[athlonkmf]

click to show/hide spoilers

I've read somewhere that the cult leader took his wife when she's like 15 or so. But they never had sex because he had to learn some kungfu.

However, I did not read that back in the minford-edition. So no idea if that's true or not

[foxs]

Ace, Pannonian, thanks. Blame it on the online text ... I checked the book, and you are right. I'll make the correction. Sky, KChill, Crazee, Tweety, Smurf, Athlon, this is the part that bothers me. Just imagine: Auntie Tao's Shifu's Shifu has already dealt with Shen Long Jiao. Tao was only a teenager when she started her lesson, and at this time of the story, I think she was described as in her sixties, i.e. forty years has passed. Just for the sake of argument, let's just say her grand Shifu was in her teen when she met Shen Long Jiao people, and then she taught Tao's Shifu, let's say when she was in her twenties. In turn, Tao's Shifu was also in her twenties when she taught Tao Hongying. At least another 40 years would have passed, bringing a total of about 80 years. Let's say the Jiaozhu was in his twenties when he 'ascended' the throne, wouldn't that make him close to a hundred years old? In the second edition, Madame Hong was about 23, 24. In the book, she was only 22, 23. I guess because Jin Yong also reduced WXB's age to 12-13 in the third edition.

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Chapter 20 – Remain of stone tablet still being read every day and every month, distinguished senior must still ascend.
(Translated by Foxs)

The beautiful woman’s eyes swept from west to east, the smile did not vanish from her face. She slowly said, “The Black Dragon Gate Zhangmenshi[1], today the deadline has arrived, please hand over the sutra." Her voice was sharp, clear, and flirtatious; it was extremely pleasant to the ears. She held out her left hand with palm facing up.

Looking from far away, Wei Xiaobao saw that the palm looked like it was carved from a piece of white jade. Suddenly a thought welled up from the bottom of his heart, "It won't be too bad if this woman become my wife. If she is doing business at the Lovely Spring Courtyard, all Yangzhou's patrons will rush forth to squeeze through the Lovely Spring Courtyard's main gate."

An old man on the left side took two steps forward, he bowed and said, "Reporting to the Madame: News from Beijing says that we have located four sutras, and we are intensifying the effort to obtain them. Following Jiaozhu's treasured teaching, even if we have to lose our lives, we will get the books, to be presented to Jiaozhu and Madame." His voice trembled slightly, obviously he was completely terrified.

"What a pity, what a pity," Wei Xiaobao mused, "Turns out this beautiful woman is the Jiaozhu's wife, a fresh flower inserted on a cow's dung, a bright moonlight illuminating a latrine!"

The woman smiled slightly and said, "Jiaozhu has extended the deadline three times, Black Dragon Envoy, you have always pushed the deadline with all sorts of excuses three, four times. If you are unwilling to strive, aren't you being disloyal to Jiaozhu?"

The Black Dragon Envoy bowed even lower; he said, "Subordinate has received Jiaozhu and Madame's great kindness, even with torn body and crushed bones it will be difficult for me to repay. The fact is, this matter is extremely thorny, subordinate has dispatched six people into the Palace, and had Deng Bingchun and Liu Yan, two people lost their lives for the Cult. I wish for Jiaozhu and Madame to graciously extend the deadline."

Wei Xiaobao mused, "Turns out that fat sow and the fake palace maid are your subordinates. I am afraid the old wh0re's rank is also lower than yours."

The woman raised her left hand to beckon Wei Xiaobao. She laughed and said, "Xiao Didi [little brother - term of endearment], come here."

Wei Xiaobao jumped in fright. "Me?" he said in a low voice.

"That's right," the woman replied, "I am calling you."

Wei Xiaobao took a quick glance toward Mr. Lu and the Fat Toutuo on his side. Mr. Lu said, "Madame is calling you, go forward and salute her respectfully."

Wei Xiaobao said in his heart, "What will happen if I do not salute her respectfully?" But he stepped forward anyway, and then respectfully bowed to salute her, saying, "Jiaozhu and Madame will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, your long life will be the same as the heaven's."

Madame Hong laughed and said, "This child is clever. Who taught you to add the 'and Madame' three characters [he fu ren] after the word Jiaozhu?"

Wei Xiaobao did not know that the cult members of the Divine Dragon Cult had always said 'Jiaozhu will enjoy immortal good fortune forever, his long life will be the same as the heaven's'. After they entered the Cult, they would always automatically recite these words; nobody dared to add a character or subtract half a sentence. Seeing not only this Madame was very beautiful, she was extremely powerful as well, Wei Xiaobao thought that since to flatter he did not need any capital, he thoughtlessly added the 'and Madame' three characters. Listening to her question, he simply said, "Jiaozhu and Madame are partners, only then will living a life as long as the heaven's be interesting. Otherwise, after a hundred or two hundred years, Madame returns to heaven, how could Jiaozhu not be extremely lonely?"

As soon as Madame Hong heard him, she laughed just like a flowering branch trembled randomly. Hong Jiaozhu could not restrain his smile either, with his hand twisting his long beard, he nodded his head and smiled.

When the cult members of the Divine Dragon Cult, from top to bottom, saw their Cult Leader, no one did not trembling in fear, who would dare to unguardedly speak nonsense like that? When they heard Wei Xiaobao earlier, they all broke in cold sweats on his behalf, but seeing Jiaozhu and Madame's warm expressions, they all felt relieved.

Madame Hong laughed and said, "Was it your own idea to add those three characters?"

"Exactly," Wei Xiaobao replied, "It was not a fake. The curvy characters on the stone tablet also mention Madame."

As soon as he said those words, Mr. Lu felt as if he had just fallen into an icehouse; he had spent countless suffering just to have Wei Xiaobao memorized the writings on the stone tablet, and now he suddenly had an unconventional idea to add Madame's name into it, how could he account for the unmatched number of characters? This urchin talked irresponsibly, inevitably he was messing up the inscribed text on the tablet. He realized that his work had already contained a lot of flaws, with this new development, wouldn't his plot fall through and stand exposed on the spot?

Hearing this, Madame Hong was also startled; she asked, "Did you say my name is also engraved on the stone tablet?"

"That's right!" Wei Xiaobao said. As soon as he blurted out these two words 'that's right', he immediately groaned inwardly, "It's bad! If she wants me to recite the inscription, it won't have any reference to the Madame."

Luckily Madame Hong did not ask at all. "You are surnamed Wei, and you came from Beijing, is that right?" she asked.

"That's right," Wei Xiaobao said the same words again.

"I heard from Fat Toutuo," Madame Hong said, "That in Beijing you met a fat lady by the name of Liu Yan, and she even taught you some martial art?"

Wei Xiaobao thought, "Everything I told Fat Toutuo, other than the sutra, he has reported to Jiaozhu and Madame, wow I'd better stick to it to the end. In any event, that fat Liu Yan is dead, it is called 'the dead cannot testify'." Thereupon he said, "Exactly, this Auntie Liu is a good friend of my Shushu [younger paternal uncle]. Day or night, she often comes to my house."

With a soft chuckle Madame Hong asked, "What is she doing in your house?"

"To talk and joke with my Shushu, of course," Wei Xiaobao replied, "Sometimes they embrace and kiss each other, they thought I did not see them, but I secretly watched them." He knew that the more he was able to tell the story with living spirit and living image, mentioning various minute and complicated details, the more people would believe him.

Madame Hong laughed, "You, this child, is so sly. People kissing, you are peeping," she said. Turning to the Black Dragon Envoy she said, "Did you hear? Do you think this child is lying?"

Wei Xiaobao followed her gaze and saw the Black Dragon Envoy's countenance changed greatly, showing his fear had reached its extreme point, his body trembled, his knees bent, he kneeled on the floor and repeatedly knocked his head, while saying, "Subordinate ... subordinate oversees my people improperly, I deserve to die ten thousand deaths, I beg Jiaozhu and Madame to open ... open the net on one side [i.e. be lenient], to let subordinate set up some meritorious deed to atone for my crime."

Wei Xiaobao was greatly surprised; he thought, "I was just saying that that fat pig and my Shushu kissed, what does it have to do with this old fellow? Why does he have to be frightened like this?"

Madame Hong smiled and said, "Set up some meritorious deed to atone for your crime? What meritorious deed do you have? I always thought that the people you sent were loyal and devoted as they handled matters on behalf of Jiaozhu. Who would have thought that in Beijing they are actually doing these loose and shady businesses?"

The Black Dragon Envoy kowtowed again and again, until his forehead was bleeding profusely. Wei Xiaobao could not bear to see him, he wanted to say something good on his behalf, but in that moment he could not find anything to say.

The Black Dragon Envoy crawled on his knees forward, he called out, "Jiaozhu, I have followed you, the Senior, from the cradle to the grave; although I do not have any meritorious service, I have worked hard for you."

With a cold laugh Madame Hong said, "What's the use of bringing up former matters? You are already old, how many more years can you give in service to Jiaozhu? Wouldn't it be merrier if you just quit your Black Dragon Envoy position earlier?"

The Black Dragon Envoy raised his head to look at Hong Jiaozhu, with a sorrowful voice he said, "Jiaozhu, you really don't have the least bit of old affection toward your old troop, your old Xiongdi?"

Hong Jiaozhu's face stayed wooden as he indifferently said, "There are too many old rotten and muddled people in our Cult, we ought to tidy up well." His voice was deep and low, and somewhat slurred. Ever since he saw him, this was the first time Wei Xiaobao had ever heard him speaking.

Suddenly several hundred teenage boys and girls shouted loudly, “With Jiaozhu’s treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable!”

The Black Dragon Envoy sighed. Still trembling, he stood up and said, "Breathing out stale air and breathing in fresh, we, the old men, deserve to die anyway." Turning around, he said, "Bring it here!" From the hall's door, four teenagers in black clothes went forward in quick steps, each one carried a wooden tray, on each tray there was a round brass lid. When they arrived in front of the Black Dragon Envoy, they set the wooden trays on the floor, and then quickly turned around and withdrew. As if by prior agreement, everybody in the hall drew back several steps.

The Black Dragon Envoy muttered, “With Jiaozhu’s treasured teaching always in our hearts, we can set up meritorious deed and subdue the enemy, nothing is unachievable ... hey hey, there is one thing that is unachievable, that is the subordinate is not loyal and devoted at all.” Reaching out, he grabbed the knob on the top of the brass lid and lifted it up. The object on the tray suddenly flew up, followed by a flash of white light, a flying dagger flew in at an angle, cutting the object into two sections, which then fell back onto the tray, wiggling and squirming. It was a gorgeous-looking multi-colored small snake.

Wei Xiaobao cried out in alarm. The people in the hall also cried out, "Who was it?" "Who's rebelling against our leader?" "Catch him!" "Who's the traitor who has the audacity to disobey Jiaozhu?"

Madame Hong suddenly stood up, made a circle with both hands, followed by waving down three times. A series of 'Shua, shua, shua!' was heard, the swords had left their scabbards, several hundred teenage boys and girls rushed forward to surround about fifty, sixty older members of the Cult. These several hundred teenagers, the ones wearing black were grouped together, the ones wearing white were grouped together, they did not mingled at all, everyone occupied his/her respective position, some were in group of six or seven, some were in group of eight or nine, each group surrounded one person in the middle. Their long swords were aimed at vital points, the several dozen older people were immediately put under their control. Fat Toutuo and Mr. Lu were also facing seven, eight swords each.

A fifty-something old Taoist priest with black beard laughed aloud and said, "Madame, you trained this formation, how many months have you spent? If you want to deal with old Xiongdi, actually you don't need to spend such energy."

Those who surrounded him were eight teenage girls wearing red clothes. Two girls raised their swords toward the pit of his stomach. "Don't be rude toward Jiaozhu and Madame," they shouted.

The Taoist priest laughed and said, "Madame, it was me, Priest Wugen [lit. without root], who killed that five-colored divine dragon. You want to punish, feel free to make your move, why implicate other people?"

Madame Hong sat back down on her chair; she smiled and said, "You admit it yourself, nothing could be better than that. Daozhang [(Taoist) Priest], haven't Jiaozhu treated you well? He entrusted you the Scarlet Dragon Gate Zhangmenshi position, which is only one rank lower than the Jiaozhu himself, above ten thousand people in seniority; why do you want to rebel?"

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[1] I have difficulty translating this. A 'men' (lit. gate) can be translated as 'school (of thought), (religious) sect, family, or house', 'zhangmen' is the head of a sect. I believe it was translated as 'headmaster, chief or sect leader' before; however, the 'shi' at the end means 'envoy' or 'messenger', as in 'left or right emissary' in the Ming Cult. Therefore, 'zhangmenshi' literally means 'emissary of the sect leader'. However, since Divine Dragon Cult is technically a 'sect', and Black Dragon in this case is a 'sect' within a Cult, I find the term 'emissary of the sect leader' is not technically accurate. Any thought?

[athlonkmf]

The problem is.. it was never stated anywhere that the master of auntie tao has fought the current leader. It could of course be that she fought another leader.

[crazee]

Wow, so much action in this update. Thanks Foxs.
Actually I am rather muddle headed when backtracking on the time line....

Normally I will just read the story and do not question the details...err a simpleton eh ?
It's only in these forums that other bring out the finer points that I get to understand deeper into the details between line story.

So every one in this forum, here's little bro paying respects for your contribution..

[Gubrak]

In my humble opinion:

'zhangmenshi' seems simply just translated as 'head of the ... '
黑龙们掌门使 = Head of the Black Dragon sect
And the sentence is : 'Head of the Black Dragon sect, today the deadline has arrived, ... '
???

Thank for this great translation Fox.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for your hard work foxs.

Looks like Jiaozhu is just a figure head. His wife is doing all the talking and making all the decisions. More internal strife!

[CFT]

Sounds like the 'Dragon gates' are colour coded like the 5 'Kings' of the Ming cult. So the Zhangmensi are like the the Left/Right envoys/heralds of the Ming cult since they are only one rank below the cult leader (jiaozhu). If you want a handy term I would suggest 'gatekeeper' though it doesn't sound as grand as envoy/herald.

[foxs]

Athlon, Crazee, Sky, I never said the grand shifu was fighting the Jiaozhu. I simply thought that if Shen Long Jiao already existed during the grand shifu's time, with Tao Hong Ying was described as in her sixties, then it must be sixty years ago, maybe more. There is a disconnect here. But then again, the older members of the Cult were described as in their sixties and seventies, which means Jiaozhu must be around eighties. Either way, for an octogenarian to have 22-23 years old wife ...

Gubrak, CFT, thanks for your input. On second thought, this term did not appear too often, the 'gate leaders' were simply referred to as 'envoys', so I decide not to be bothered too much by it.

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Priest Wugen said, "Subordinate is not rebelling. Black Dragon Envoy Zhang Danyue has rendered great service to our Cult, just because there are some people among his subordinates who did not handle their affairs favorably, Madame wanted to take his life. Subordinate boldly asks Jiaozhu and Madame to show mercy."

Madame Hong laughed and said, "And if I do not comply?"

Priest Wugen said, "Although Shen Long Jiao was founded by Jiaozhu, several tens of thousands xiongdi have gone through water and tread on fire together with him, everybody has his contribution. In those days, there were a total of one thousand twenty three old xiongdi, today some have lost their lives in the hands of the enemy, some were put to death by Jiaozhu, and those that remain are less than a hundred people. Subordinate asks Jiaozhu to show mercy by sparing the lives of ours, several dozen old xiongdi, simply kick us all out of the Cult. Jiaozhu and Madame find us, these old people, repulsive, and want to promote new people, then just send us, the old people, out of here."

With a cold laugh Madame Hong said, "Since Shen Long Jiao was founded, I have never heard anybody leaving the Cult alive. By saying that, Priest Wugen is imagining the wildest thing."

"In that case," Priest Wugen said, "Madame does not agree?"

"Excuse me," Madame Hong said, "But our Cult does not have such rule."

Priest Wugen laughed aloud and said, "Turns out Jiaozhu and Madame have determined to put us all to death."

Madame Hong smiled, "That's not necessarily so," she said, "Old people who are loyal to Jiaozhu, naturally Jiaozhu still considers them good xiongdi, absolutely no discrimination here. We do not distinguish juniors from seniors, all we ask is whether they are loyal and devoted to Jiaozhu or not. Whoever is loyal to Jiaozhu, raise your hand."

Several hundred teenage boys and girls all raised their left hands, the senior members of the Cult who were being surrounded also raised their hands, even Priest Wugen also raised his left hand. Everybody chorused, "To be loyal to Jiaozhu, absolutely no double-mind!"

Seeing everybody was raising his hand, Wei Xiaobao also raised his hand. Madame Hong nodded and said, "That's very good, turns out everybody is loyal to Jiaozhu, including this newly arrived Xiao Didi, although he is not a member of our Cult, unexpectedly he is also loyal to Jiaozhu."

In his heart Wei Xiaobao said, "I am loyal to the turtle son of a b1tch."

Madame Hong said, "Everybody is loyal, then we do not have a single rebellious traitor in here. I'm afraid there is something fishy here, I'll have to investigate carefully. I must offend all old xiongdi for the time being. Tie them up."

"Yes!" several hundred teenage boys and girls replied together.

"Hold on!" a tall and sturdy man called out.

Madame Hong said, "White Dragon Envoy, what respected opinion do you have?"

"Respected opinion, that I do not have," the man replied, "Subordinate only feel it's not fair."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Madame Hong clicked her tongue, "You are criticizing me as handling this matter unfairly."

"Subordinate does not dare," the man said, "Subordinate has been following Jiaozhu for twenty years, and has marched forward courageously in everything. When I was risking my life for our Cult, these little babies have not even born yet. Why is it that they are loyal to Jiaozhu, but we, the old xiongdi, are not loyal?"

Madame Hong chuckled and said, "By saying that, White Dragon Envoy is showing off your own merit. Aren't you saying that if there was no White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling, Shen Long Jiao will not exist today?"

The tall and sturdy man, Zhong Zhiling said, "The founding of Shen Long Jiao is Jiaozhu, one man's merit, everybody else was simply following him, the Senior, striking the world, there is no merit worthy to be mentioned, but ..."

"But what?" Madame Hong asked.

Zhong Zhiling said, "But we do not have any merit, these teenage babies do not have merit even more."

"I am only twenty something years old," Madame Hong said, "So I do not have any merit either?"

Zhong Zhiling hesitated for half a day. "That's right," he finally said, "Madame does not have any merit either. The great undertaking of founding our Cult is Jiaozhu, the Senior, one man's merit."

Madame Hong slowly said, "Since nobody has any merit, killing you will not be considered an injustice, will it?" While saying this, her eyes flickered with a murderous spirit, but her expression was still extremely charming.

Zhong Zhiling roared angrily, "Naturally killing the one surnamed Zhong alone is not a big deal. I am just afraid that by murdering a loyal and good person, by putting to death a minister who has given outstanding service, the foundation of Shen Long Jiao will be destroyed in the hands of Madame, one person."

"Very good, very good," Madame Hong said, "Ay, I am very tired." These last few words were spoken languidly, who would have thought that it was unexpectedly a secret signal to kill? As soon as the seven teenagers wearing white clothes surrounding Zhong Zhiling heard it, they thrust their swords forward, simultaneously entered Zhong Zhiling's body.

When the seven swords were drawn, from Zhong Zhiling body spurted seven streams of blood, splashing the seven teenagers' white clothes that their clothes were soaked with blood. Zhong Zhiling called out, "Jiaozhu, you ... have the heart to do this! You ... " He fell down and died. The seven teenagers withdrew toward the corridor, their movement was very orderly.

All the older members of the Cult knew that the White Dragon Envoy Zhong Zhiling's martial art skill was very high, but the seven swords moved together, unexpectedly he did not have the slightest bit of power to resist, showing that in order for these seven teenagers to be able to thrust their swords together in the hall today, they must have been under the Cult Leader's direction beforehand, also they must have practiced countless time, so that they were very familiar with the move and were able to execute it without a flaw. Nobody did not have a trembling heart.

After yawning, Madame Hong lightly pressed her left hand on her cherry-red lips; she appears so delicate and extremely calm. Hong Jiaozhu still maintained his wooden expression, as if he did not see the killing of Zhong Zhiling just now. Madame Hong softly said, "Blue Dragon Envoy, Yellow Dragon Envoy, you two gentlemen, do you feel that the White Dragon Envoy was scheming a rebellion, was guilty and deserve to be punished?"

An old man with slit eyes and sharp face bowed and said, "Zhong Zhiling rebelled against Jiaozhu and Madame, he had thought this through deliberately and methodically for quite a long time, subordinate utterly detest him, and have lodged an accusation several times to Madame, but Madame always said that looking at the old xiongdi's face, let him had the opportunity to repent. Jiaozhu and Madame are magnanimous, hoping for him to reform and start afresh, who would have thought that this man was incomparably malicious. His guilt was definitely unpardonable. By letting him to have a quick death like this, it was actually too easy for him. All the brethrens of the Cult, nobody is not grateful for Jiaozhu and Madame's benevolence."

In his heart Wei Xiaobao said, "He is flattering the big king."

Madame Hong smiled slightly and said, "Yellow Dragon Envoy understood the cardinal principle. Blue Dragon Envoy, what do you think?"

A tall and thin man in his fifties glowered at the eight teenagers wearing blue clothes around him. "Get lost!" he growled, "If Jiaozhu wants to kill me, do you think I cannot do it myself?"

Eight teenagers pushed their swords slightly forward, until the tip of the swords touched his clothes. The man let out several 'hey, hey' cold laugh, he slowly raised his hands to grab the chest of his own clothes; he said, "Jiaozhu, Madame, in the past, when subordinate, along with Scarlet, White, Black and Yellow, four Gates' Zhangmenshi sworn brotherhood, we determined to work ourselves to death for Shen Long Jiao, we did not expect there would be a day like today. Madame wanted to put anybody to death, it's not strange at all. What's strange to me is that because the Yellow Dragon Envoy Yin Dage is greedy for life, afraid of death, unexpectedly he uttered such a sordid and contemptible talk, slandering his own good xiongdi ..."

Suddenly there was a 'rip' noise as the man threw both hands outward, pulling his own long gown into two halves. With a shake of his arms, the two pieces of gowns coiled horizontally out, sweeping away the eight teenagers' swords. Blue light flashed, a pair of daggers about a chi and a half long appeared in his hands. With a series of 'Swish, swish!' sound, the pit of the eight teenagers' stomachs were hit by the dagger; they all fell to the ground, spurting blood from their wounds. Eight dead bodies fell around him, unexpectedly they form a very neat circle. His movement was very fast, just like a thunderbolt before it even reaches the ears. Madame Hong was startled; she clapped her hands repeatedly. More than twenty teenagers in blue clothes rushed toward the Blue Dragon Envoy, and once again he was surrounded.

The Blue Dragon Envoy laughed aloud, and then in a loud and clear voice he said, "Madame, these babies that you trained are completely useless. If Jiaozhu wants to rely on these kids to establish great merits by subduing the enemy, won't it be too inconvenient?"

When the seven teenagers assassinate Zhong Zhiling, Hong Jiaozhu appeared to turn a blind eye, now that the Blue Dragon Envoy killed eight teenagers, he appeared as unconcerned; sitting quietly in his chair, all along he did not pay any attention. Madame Hong cast a quick glance toward her husband, as if she was somewhat ashamed. Smiling sweetly, she sat down and said with a laugh, "Blue Dragon Envoy, your swordsmanship is very good, today ..."

Suddenly there was a series of 'crash, bang!' noise all around the hall as the swords in the several hundred teenage boys and girls all fell to the floor. As they were still in shock, they saw one by one the teenagers fell on their knees to the ground. Instantly everybody also felt dizzy and their eyes dimmed, and were unable to stand. Those with weaker inner power fell down first, and then the rest of them swayed and fell down one after another. In a short moment the hall was strewn with lying bodies.

Madame Hong cried out in alarm, "What ... what happened?" Her body felt weak, she slipped down from the bamboo chair.

The Blue Dragon Envoy was actually standing upright and unafraid, with a malicious laugh he said, "Jiaozhu, when you massacred our xiongdi, have you ever thought that a day like today will arrive?" He struck his pair of daggers against each other, creating a metallic clang. Stepping over the bodies lying on the ground, he walked toward Hong Jiaozhu.

"Humph!" Hong Jiaozhu snorted, "Maybe not!" Reaching out to grab the armrest of the bamboo chair, 'Crack!' he broke the armrest.

The Blue Dragon Envoy's countenance changed immediately. Withdrawing two steps, he said, "Jiaozhu, such a big cult like Shen Long Jiao is torn to pieces. Who planted the embryo of this calamity, you, Senior, ought to understand by now?"

[pannonian]

[I]Athlon, Crazee, Sky, I never said the grand shifu was fighting the Jiaozhu. I simply thought that if Shen Long Jiao already existed during the grand shifu's time, with Tao Hong Ying was described as in her sixties, then it must be sixty years ago, maybe more. There is a disconnect here. But then again, the older members of the Cult were described as in their sixties and seventies, which means Jiaozhu must be around eighties. Either way, for an octogenarian to have 22-23 years old wife ...

Just to squick you even further. The Roman statesman Cato the Elder was around 80 when he married his last wife, who was in her teens.

Cato the Elder (234-149 BC)

Men in love were thought laughable by Romans, especially old dodderers who married young girls. Yet this is precisely what Cato eventually did. Being a sensible old man, on losing his wife he had married off his son. Cato himself then frequented a certain slave girl, who came to see him every evening in his room, but his son felt that this carrying-on was rather shocking in a house where there was a young bride, his wife. Cato went straight to the forum where his friends gathered around him, forming an escort. Among them was a scribe, Salonius, who had worked at Cato's house when the the great man had been a magistrate and who had since remained his client. Cato called him over and asked wether he had found a husband yet for his daughter. Salonius replied that he had not, and that he was reluctant to do so without asking Cato's opinion. 'Well then', said Cato, 'I have found a suitable son-in-law for you, unless you find his age an obstacle. He is a worthy man in all respects, but he is very old.' Salonius could hardly object. Cato then declared that he himself was the fiancé. Astounded but honoured, Salonius rushed to put his signature on the contract. Cato's young wife gave him a son who assumed as surname the name of his maternal grandfather, Salonius.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks for the nice update foxs.

[aliderhamy]

wow wewa

this is getting interesting

"I pleasdge my allegence to the son of a turtle"

that makes me a folower of turtles ?