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Thread: The History of the Tang Dynasty Two Dragons (大唐双龙传) - Huang Yi

  1. #181
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    oh great update with some action! thanks a lot !

  2. #182
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    Thanks xlandhenry, great action scene here...

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    Thanks xlandhenry

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    Thanks! Rather fast pace story, and enjoyable with your translation...

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    Book 3 Chapter One A Massacre

    In their tattered, wet clothes, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling raced merrily in wilderness, heading where they assumed Pengcheng was.

    Penniless and weaponless, yet somehow they overjoyed at the thought they could once again roamed free in this land.

    Their paces grew faster.
    The air coming in from nose and mouth started to fall short, but the their Qi kept circulating inside.

    Kou Zhong rushed onto a giant rock, somersaulted, but his landing was not as firm as he'd expected. He slipped and rolled towards towards the meadow about three zhang down the slope. His left sleeve was torn apart by the bushes, revealing his muscular arm.

    Xu Ziling felt amused and followed Kou Zhong's example, crushing straight on him. Together they rolled on the ground, laughing hard.

    "There! What's that?" Kou Zhong suddenly pointed towards the distant night sky and asked. Xu Ziling turned his gaze and saw red flames flickering. "A fire!"Kou Zhong sprung up and said :"Let's go and have a look!"


    Before them was the ruins of a town just destroyed in a fire. Every house had been thoroughly burned through. Bodies of human and cattle were scattered in and around the town, some of which had turned into barely recognizable charred remains.

    Aside from the still-burning houses and smoke that arose everywhere, this once-prosperous town now resembled only a realm of silence and death, those who survived must've run long before they came.

    There were bodies covered in gore that just dried up. Men or women, children or elders, all had been slaughtered mercilessly by the killers. They were watching with hot tears in their eyes, yet inside they could only feel cold as ice.

    Could it be Du Fuwei's men? Why would they commit such brutal crime?
    Suddenly they heard the noise of wagon and horses coming from the west of the town, and the noise gradually faded away.

    They gritted their teeth and hurriedly chased on.
    After running through a dense wood, they were immediately bewildered by what they saw.
    Soldiers of Sui Army were cluttering along the official road leading to the north. Their armors worn out, their banners slanting, clearly indicating that they had just retreated from a lost battle. Countless mule carts were following behind them, but due to the heavy load they were staggering like an old man and fell behind by a large distance from the main cavalcade.

    As the two were suspecting whether these soldiers were responsible for the tragedies in the town, they suddenly heard an evil sniggering from one of the mule cart. Then a naked women was thrown off that cart and fell on the mud road, lying still, apparently dead.

    The other Sui soldier who were steering the cart laughed. "Lao Zhang you're really capable. Three in a row!"
    Anger rapidly filled their minds. They could watch no more and dashed forward madily.

    The soldier and raper had just risen up and saw them. He drew out his sabre and laughed :"Hey rubbish, was that your mom that I just fuxked?" Blinded with righteous rage, they even forgot they had no weapons, flew up and swooped at the Sui soldier.

    Shocked at their swiftness, the Sui soldier called to his flyman for help and swung his sabre at them horizontally, hoping to stop the two from getting onto the cart.

    Kou Zhong was greeted by the sabre first. Only then did he remember that he didn't carry weapon with him. Instinctively he mustered up another mouthful of Qi and for the first time rose again in one leap. He avoided the sabre by just one inch, and somersaulted behind the enemy.
    When the other soldier who was driving the cart had just thrust a spear toward his chest.

    Startled by his own new achievement, Kou Zhong unconsciously inhale a large breath of air, which disrupted his Qi, and he fell soundly on the cart where the supplies were laid, luckily dodged the enemy's spear.

    On the other side, Xu Ziling had just set his right foot on the edge of the cart as the sabre slashed in front. He quickly rorated his body on his right foot and kicked his left from the side, which landed accurately on the soldier's left ear.

    Destructive force was sent out with this kick.
    The Sui soldier had no chance to even scream before his spine was cracked and his body was thrown off the cart, killed on the spot.

    Shocked that he just killed a person, Xu Ziling was momentarily unable to control his Qi and also fell into the piles of supplies.

    While at the same time, Kou Zhong reached his hand up, clutched tightly on the spear and pulled it back forcefully. The flyman couldn't hold his position and fell into the gap between his seat and the cart behind, letting out a miserable scream.

    The army ahead of them had noticed the turmoil, and ten odd cavalrymen turned and galloped towards them.
    "Let's run!"Kou Zhong called as they jumped off the cart and shot into the dense wood by the road, disappearing completely.

    They fled ten odd miles before coming to a halt to rest.
    Sighing, Xu Ziling said :"I just killed a person! How could I imagine killing him with just one kick." Kou Zhong grabbed his shoulder and petted :"A killer and raper like him deserves much worse than that. You don't have to be sorry."He paused for a second and continued :"All those goddamn soldiers in Yangzhou were also mustards that always bully innocent citizens. I just didn't know murdering was also one of their crimes. No wonder so many people have risen to rebel. Even Old daddy's men seemed much better in comparison. Hey! Can you hear that?" Xu Ziling focused his mind and listened carefully. The wind carried along the sounds of battle, which seemed to be spreading out in a wide area, like two large armies battling hard.

    Hot blood began to surge as they recalled the innocent villagers that were slaughtered by Sui army and jumped up in alert.
    Kou Zhong said in remorse :"We should've taken that spear, then we would be able to kill a few more of those bastards."
    Xu Ziling agreed:"We must check out what's going on first, snatching two sabres should be a piece of cake. Then we shall do some combat exercises with these rogue soldiers, after all what we lack most is experience."They were very confident since they had just scored some success.

    Kou Zhong nodded and said :"It looks like we are quite formidable now. We just didn't get enough opportunity to exercise. Come on, bro! Let this day mark the beginning of our journey to conquer jianghu!"Cheering they ran towards the source of the sounds.

    After swimming past a stream and crossing over a mound, they sped up on top of a hill, where their view instantly broadened up.

    Down on the plains below, two armies were fighting a fierce battle.
    One army consisted of nearly ten thousand Sui soldiers, while the other army were warriors dressed in blue suits, numbered only a quarter that of the Sui army. Although outnumbered, these warriors all possesses remarkable martial skills and retained a perfect formation, occasionally driving the Sui army into small groups, effectively diminishing their advantage in numbers.

    On top of a hill stood the base camp of those blue suit warriors. A few groups of men up there were making use of lanterns of three colors - Red, blue and yellow - to direct the advancing of their armies below.

    Oggling at the battle scene for the first time in their lives, the two boys momentarily forgot their original plan.

    After a while, Kou Zhong recomposed himself and pointed towards some distant lights, saying :"That must be another village or town. These blue-suited warriors might be protecting it from the Sui army. What's going on really?"

    Exhaling, Xu Ziling said :"If they're our old daddy's men, we'd better not be involved, otherwise we're just sending ourselves straight into the devil's hand."

    Kou Zhong pondered for some time before saying :"They must be another rebellion army. Old daddy's men never dressed in such uniforms. Hey, Xiao Ling, are you afraid?"

    Xu Ziling laughed. He went and broke off two boughs from a nearby tree, each measured more than one zhang in length and as thick as a child's arm. He gave one to Kou Zhong, saying :"Our gallantry and fortune now relies on this!" Kou Zhong tore off smaller stems from the bough and carried it on shoulder."Hero Xu you first!"He joked. After trying a few swings, Xu Ziling sung :"The wind rustles and the water of Yi river chills, heroes must return in triumph! 1* Haha, off we go!" Laughing and singing, they rushed down the hill towards the battleground.

    As they were rushing to the plains, suddenly a row of arrows whisked at them from the grass shoots around ten zhang ahead.

    They had no experience on how to deal with arrows and they hadn't expected an ambush. Terrified, they immdiately ducked down and rolled on the ground in a hurry. The arrows shot past just above them.

    The push they had a few minutes before was totally overwhelmed by shock now. Crawling and rolling they hid behind an array of giant rocks and bushes, too scared to move any more.

    Waves of footsteps were coming at their direction. Then they saw countless Sui soldiers that surrounded them, everyone with a spear, rampaging towards them.

    They now realized the blue-suited warriors were under siege. This group of Sui soldiers they encountered were possibly sent to prevent reinforcement.

    They would rather flee at once if they had the choice. As they had no way out then they sprung up, swinging the two boughs with all their strength violently.

    Four spears were sent flying behind, and two soldiers were also thrown back with blood covering their heads.

    Yet there were enemies on every direction. The whole place was lit by torches, bathed in scarlet light.
    A group of axemen and swordmen poured into the inner circle, chopping specifically at their boughs. When the two finally repelled another wave of attack, the boughs in their hands had only less than a half left, and not a single enemy soldier down.

    Kou Zhong realize the dire situation and yelled :"Onto the rocks!" Leaping and somerassaulting backwards, they landed on the rocks behind them.
    Their enemies threw out their spears at them in chorus.

    Upon this critical moment, they somehow managed to calm down. It was as if everything became silent, yet not a tiny sound could escape their ears.

    Qi was traveling inside their bodies at multiplied speed, in comparison, the movement of their enemies and the flying spears all seemed to slow down.

    They could now clearly grasp the shooting angle as well as the timing difference of each spear, and the feeling itself was beyond imagining.

    Standing back to back, they swung the remaining bough right and left, and then up and down, in a very natural way, blocking every single spear from coming through.

    As soon as their enemies realized their tactics didn't work, they sent out five men who swoop onto the rocks to make sure their death.

    After ducking down to avoid an incoming slash, Kou Zhong swung the bough at the feet. As the man fell in pain, Kou Zhong grabbed his sabre and thrust into the belly of another Sui soldier, who had aimed the axe at his head.

    Xu Ziling also snatched a long sabre and it had greatly boosted his morale. He hurled the bough out, striking an enemy down. "Let's break out through them!"He yelled and together with Kou Zhong, they jumped into the enemies' formation.

    Exerting ten forms of Bloody battle Li Jing taught them, Xu Ziling strode forward and swung out his blade with lightning speed. What seemed like a common move somehow made it unavoidable, as if the spear in his enemy's hand had automatically open a gap. The enemy was struck directly at the chest, then dropped backwards with his blood splashing, dead on the spot.

    While Kou Zhong twisted his wrist to deflect two piercing spears with his sabre, then swung left. One Sui soldier had his throat cut, falling onto the ground pathetically.

    They didn't expected the ten forms to be so effective, amazed they grew more daring.
    Although they were vastly outnumbered, they felt they could clearly grasp evey tiny movement and the strength and weaknesses of their enemies. They could even gauge the outlying enemy forces from the pressure given by the enemies in the inner cirle, that kind of feeling was really beyond words.

    All of a sudden, they seemingly forgot about life and death. They feared nothing, even the hundreds of enemies and those glittering weapons in front frighten them no more. In this chaotic battlefield they fought, with the instinct to survive.

    When they moved around in the enemies' formation, they cooperated flawlessly and naturally, one attacking while the other defending, or vice versa.
    Had they been asked to cope with the other one in a usual exercise, they might never figure it out. Yet at this moment, everything seemed so natural as the way it should be.

    As Xu Ziling chopped with his sabre, his inner Qi flowed out like the torrents in Great River. His opponent had no chance to even make a blocking move before the lightning strike hit his body.

    While Kou Zhong altered his forms rapidly, with limitlessly power that continuously flowed to his blade. Although the opponent had ulitilized his full strength to block the attack, yet Kou Zhong's sabre was not deflected by even a single bit, striking the enemy down.

    Since Fu Juncuo taught them the Stance of Nine Mysteries, they had finally combined it with Secrets of Immortality, Bloody Battle sabreplay and the Birdy Style under such a perilous situation, developing a set of unique battle stance of their own.

    At this moment, they could see gaps and holes everywhere among the spears formation. Deflecting the spears, shifting into melee, they found their enemies waiting to be slaughtered like a lamb.

    The enemy had just dispatched a group of about a hundred soldiers to intercept them. Witnessing their prowess, the soldiers holding up the outer circle began to backed down in fear for lives.

    Actually the two had almost exhausted their energy by now. Seeking this opportunity, they once again pressed on with all strength, instantly breaking out of the circle and fled away.
    For a hundred zhang they ran like crazy before slumping down in a forest, panting uncontrollably.

    Kou Zhong grinned bitterly and said :"Hah, we succeed! Can you even imagine we could survive that lot!"
    Xu Ziling sunk his sabre into the mud, resting his hand on the hilt, panting :"We fought too hard. You know, we could actually save some energy and would not be so exhausted now."

    "Have you got any wounds? My back ate sabre chops, luckily I dodged in time."Kou Zhong asked.
    "Only got scraped at my left leg by a spear. Nothing big."Xu Ziling shook his head and said.
    Kou Zhong finally caught his breath. "Shall we try again? Those blue-suited warrior seemed to be in big trouble!"He suggested.

    Xu Ziling rose up and said :"Of course. If the Sui army were to break through their defense, who knows what savage things would happen to the village behind?
    Kou Zhong crawled up in delight and said :"You're really a good bro. This time we must be more vigilant and not intercepted by the enemies midway."

    After jumping atop a tree to make some observation, they took another path around before heading towards the battlefield again.
    This time, they felt they had grown up, and were not the two play kids anymore.

    ==================================================
    1*This line comes from a song sung by the assasin Jing Ke, before he went on his mission to assassinate the emperor of Qin. The original song was The hero goes and never returns"

  6. #186
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    Thanks xlandhenry
    Happy New Year

  7. #187
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    oh pretty exciting! thanks xlandhenry! i love to hear how they are improving bit by bit.

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    Thanks xlandhenry! yea they are finally free, its nice to read that. Thank you for your effort

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    Thanks for the transaltions, i really love this novel i read it in one go xD, please keep up the good work

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    Good translation on this great book.I'm looking forward to reading more of the "twins" progressing in their martial arts.

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    Please keep up w/ the translation xlandhenry!! You forgot the update for this month's translation....

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    Yep. I'm looking forward to reading the monthly English translation installments of this book.

  13. #193
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    Quote Originally Posted by szfong View Post
    Please keep up w/ the translation xlandhenry!! You forgot the update for this month's translation....
    Of course I haven't forgotten

  14. #194
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    Chapter 2 is not done yet, but I saw some hungry wolves, so here's the fresh meat!

    =================================================

    Book 3 Chapter 2 Treachery and Deception

    Scrambling like snakes, the two quietly snuck towards the battlefield.
    After emerging from a wood and arriving at the southeastern corner of the battlefield, they were eventually spotted by the enemy. About six, seven Sui soldiers with long swords scurried out from the underbush on their left, cursing and swooping at them like mad tigers.

    On the other hand, a cavalry consisted of about 50 riders were also hurrying towards them, swinging their spears.
    They were now much less afraid of these enemies. Without a word, they snuck ahead to greet the Sui footmen with their sabres.

    Anger surged from within as the scene of the whole town being burnt down and its citizens being slaughtered came to their mind. Every time the sound of their blades slashing through the air was heard, several Sui soldiers was thrown back dead.

    As the riders were arriving, they immediately utilized light-body techniques and quickly hid themselves among the woods. When the riders had returned in vain, they snuck out again onto the plains. After they silently chopped down a few soldiers, the group of swordmen and archers stationed there who hadnt been prepared were made to believe there were a large batch of enemy reinforcement and instantly broke into chaos.

    A few torches were dropped carelessly on the meadow, lighting up flames which spread around quickly.
    The two had not yet realized that this fire would later become their savior.

    The Sui army positioned around this area numbered at least three thousand, and there were plenty of skilled veterans among them. Under normal circumstances, if heavily surrounded, even formidable ones like Du Fuwei would have little chance escaping but to fight to his death, much less the two inexperience lads.

    Kou Zhong muttered: "This way!" as five Sui soldiers moved in the way to block him.
    Xu Ziling swooped forward from behind Kou Zhong. With a swung of his long sabre, he exerted "Dead or Alive" of the ten forms. Blade waves were sent out furiously in every direction. One soldier slayed on the spot, another was sent spinning sideways. The other three immediately fled in fright.

    Dang!
    A man suddenly shifted in front of Kou Zhong, unwaveringly stopped his attack with long stingers in both hands.
    Xu Ziling dashed forward to help, but was also repelled.
    This was the first enemy expert they encountered till now.

    Countless footsoldiers moved out from behind the man and swarmed over.
    The man who stopped them was actually a Sui commander, who shouted furiously, "I want to cut you two imps into pieces!"

    At this same moment, on top of the high ground that stood at the other corner of the plain, around two hundred blue-suited warriors, ready with bows and arrows, were guarding in the center of their formation a fair lady, whose long hair dangled over her shoulders.

    Each time the lady uttered an order, three subordinates began to wave the three-color lanterns tied at the end of long poles, to signal their soldiers to advance or retreat.

    Four figures were standing behind the lady, and one could tell from their appearance that they were all martial experts. A stocky man with a beard, a large man that stood like a tower, a man in scholar robe and an ugly middle-aged woman.

    The fair lady spoke tenderly :"Its really strange. The southeastern corner of the enemies' formation seems to be disordered. Who on earth would have come to help us?"
    The four people behind tried their best but couldn't see anything strange.

    The lady's eyes glimmered with wisdom as she said :"It cannot be seen from the outside. I just read it from their banner signals. If the turmoil kept spreading, we could use that to break out the enemies defense and even have chances to win the battle."

    The man in scholar robe answered in admiration :"Lady, you are not only knowledgeable in the art of war, but also so insightful." The ugly woman said :"Even if there's reinforcement, in my humble opinion, we should break through the encirclement first before planning any counter attack. Lady, you're so valuable to us that you must not risk yourself." As she was speaking, the others all frowned on her hoarse voice that sounded like a night owl.
    But her suggestion gained support from the stocky man, who nodded in agreement :"When Master Li sent us to protect lady, he had told us to place your safety above everything else."

    A tinge of unpleasantness flashed past her jade face, yet her voice remained soft and calm as the long-haired beauty spoke :"As the commander of an army, how could I place my own safety above everything else? Not to mention the consequences if I couldn't stop this elite Sui army under Qin Shubao's command. Had he succeeded in taking down Fuchun, it would be nearly impossible for us to strike back."A fire just started to lit at the southeastern corner the moment she finished speaking.

    And the lady realized that something was really troubling the enemies.
    The southeastern corner was the enemies commanding headquarter, unlike other places where it mattered not as much, everything happened there would affect the whole battlefield.

    The fair lady, with her usual grace and calmness, issued the order to strike back in full force at the southeastern corner.

    The four fighters behind her drew out their weapons and helped the lady mount her horse. Together with about two hundred warriors, they rushed down towards the battlefield and joined forces with two friendly armies, each consisting of about a thousand men. The final battle had begun.

    When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were nearly overwhelmed by their enemies, suddenly they saw an opening was created and the Sui soldiers backed down like falling tides. A group of blue-suit riders cut the way through, driving away the the Sui soldiers around.

    Miraculously they were saved. Feeling extremely exhausted, they fled into the meadows which were already engulfed by flames, and took a winding path to leave the battleground behind.

    And they finally fell down on a nearby hill, unable to run any further.

    The war cries from the battleground were still ringing.
    Kou Zhong exhaled, We must not do such foolish things any more. Even heroes like us cannot help when outnumbered.
    I wonder who that Sui general is. He was quite formidable, fortunately I had countered his attack fast,
    or he wouldve killed us with just one punch.
    Kou Zhong snorted :Hes barely someone! Two more fights, Im sure we can beat him then, Ouch~!

    Looking at the blood that covered both their bodies, Xu ZIling asked caringly :Any serious wounds?
    Kou Zhong shrugged it off :Had it been serious I couldnt make it here. What a dumb question youre asking. Let me tend to your wounds first.
    Xu Ziling said:Can you make them feel better? Forget it! Fortunately we had the effective self-healing energy, let us get a damn nice sleep instead! Leave them for tomorrow!
    Then together, they dropped themselves down and soon fell into deep meditation.

    When Xu Ziling felt something and opened his eyes, Kou Zhong was still sleeping soundly.
    Stretching his limbs, the seven wounds over his body all started to felt like burning.

    The sun was already high up. The surrounding mountains were peaceful and quiet, with only some birds chirping. Last night was merely like an unreal nightmare, if not for the intense pain all over his body, he wouldve believed there had been no battles taking place here.

    A line of birds leisurely passed across the still background of the sky.
    All of a sudden, Xu Ziling seemed to grab some profound and eternal laws in the nature, yet he couldnt describe it.
    His mind was at peace and crystal clear.

    Last night, in the midst of the battle and through the brink of life and death, he felt his existence and his life had elevated into a new stage. Any sufferings had only been testaments that he must come through during the cultivation.

    What were you thinking mindlessly?Kou Zhong shoved him with his elbow, joking.
    Xu Ziling crawled up, eyeing at their blood-drenched bodies and tattered clothes, smiling bitterly :Now all I am thinking about is to get new clothes and a rich meal. Everything else is not that important now.

    Kou Zhong sprung up, and after looking around, he sounded a little frustrated: I seemed to have totally lost my sense of direction. Much less whether Peng Cheng is to our west or east. What should we do? Shall we just go the lucky way?

    Xu Ziling said :How come youve suddenly lost your brilliant brain? A large city like Pengcheng certainly lies along an official road. As long as we get back to the official road we passed by yesterday, and ask nicely when coming across any people, we can definitely find our way.
    Kou Zhong chortled and said :Youre right! Lets go!
    Then the two set off, travelling towards the town ruins according to their memory.

    They ran for seven or eight li before slowing down to look around.
    It looks like we get lost again, or else we shouldve been able to see that ruin by now,Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said :Nowhere we could find a village or even a person to ask for directions here. Hey, look! Whats that?

    Having noticed the smoke rising up for some time now, Xu Ziling happily replied :Go and have a look, rather than sit here and ask.

    They ran down towards what seemed like a nearby place, but when they actually arrived it was already evening. It turned out to be a little village and kitchen smoke was rising up from one of the houses, indicating that someone was cooking inside.

    While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling couldnt stopped worrying, that if a few Sui skirmishers who ran away from the battlefield had come here, the villagers would face an impending doom.

    As they came closer, they saw only about thirty houses. Strangely the village was quiet, no chicken crowing nor dogs barking.
    They suddenly felt something completely wrong.

    Kou Zhong pondered and said :Every door and window of these houses are shut. The villagers mustve run away to avoid the wars. As for the house that produces the smoke, it could be a passerby. Shall we go and try our luck? We could run away should anything bad happened, our light-body technique should be enough to save our lives!

    Slapping on the sabre carried on his back, Xu Ziling laughed and said :We didnt fear before thousands of enemy soldiers, why fear just some no name passerby? If it happens to be a travelling merchant, maybe we could beg him for something to eat, or be his short-term bodyguards to earn some travelling expenses.

    Kou Zhong laughed :I almost forget we are first-class martial experts now. Hey, come on!Finishing, he led the way and entered the village.

    The house from which the smoke rose was the largest one in this village. It was divided into two sections by a small courtyard in the middle. Its doors and windows were completely shut, leaving out not a sound but a mysterious feeling.

    Kou Zhong bawled :Anyone at home? He repeated a few times, but no one answered.
    Xu Ziling felt a bit weird. Maybe we should leave here.He prod Kou Zhong and mumbled.
    Kou Zhong mocked :Have you forgotten you are already a martial expert? Lets have a look, maybe the passerby had left us something to eat.Walking straight in front, he kicked open the door.

    They stepped over the doorsill and entered the main room. The household and its furniture looked intact, but everything was covered by a large amount of dust, and there were spider webs hanging at the corners, apparently its been uninhabited for some time.

    They couldnt help wondering as they crossed the courtyard and went into the rear section. There was nobody in the house, while the stove in the kitchen had been lit by someone, producing the smoke they saw outside. However, the fire in the stove was dying down, almost extinguished.

    As Xu Ziling was carefully examining footprints on the floor, Kou Zhongs voice rang from a room in the rear section :Come, Xiao Ling! Half your dream has been found!

    Xu Ziling was not in the mood to chew what he actually meant and hurried over. Just as he stepped into the room, a dard, cloud-like object suddenly flew out at him. He grabbed it, which turned out to be a clean suit made of nice linen cloth.

    A big crate was pulled out from under the bed, and its lid removed. Kou Zhong had extracted a bunch of clothes from the crate and threw them all on the bed, busily scrambling through them like searching for some treasure.

    Getting dressed up with brand new clothes, they felt totally refreshed. The only dissatisfaction now came from their hungry stomachs. It was getting dark outside, and after searching thoroughly in the house, they still couldn't find a single grain of rice or weed.

    Kou Zhong said :"Every village should have grown fruit trees. I will go and pick some fruits while you tidy up this bed. Let's stay here for the night and set off tomorrow morning."Xu Ziling agreed and both started off.

    After some time Kou Zhong returned carrying an cock in his hand. "There are even some chickens left behind! And you know what, there's a large graveyard behind this house, most graves were newly erected. Maybe most villagers didn't leave at all, they just got some disease and died."He said.
    Xu Ziling exhaled :"Then what we're wearing could be..."

    Slaying the cock at the courtyard, Kou Zhong comforted him :"At least one person didn't die and erected the graves. Maybe it was the one who lit the fire here?"
    Xu Ziling felt even more creepy. He dragged Kou Zhong aside and said :"Shall we go and find another house to stay? I'll prepare a fire."
    Although Kou Zhong appeared to be brave, he was actually frightened inside. Xu Ziling's suggestion was immediately echoed, and they transferred to another smaller house. After filling their stomachs, a breeze started to blow. They closed the door, and leaned against the wall to rest, too afraid to touch the beds anymore. Though still somewhat scared, the tiredness eventually made them fall into slumber.

    It was at midnight when they were startled up by some noise.
    Hoof beats coming from outside filled their ears as they sprung up awake.

    Crawling up, they tried to peek outside through the gaps on the windows.
    They saw a band of people hurrying into the village on their horses. Clad in tight warrior suits and carrying quivers behind their backs, these people, with their barbaric appearance, seemed to come from outside the central plains.

    The band had around thirty people. One of them was extremely big. The large rectangular trunk about 8 feet in length that he was carrying didnt seemed to hinder his movement at all.

    As they reached inside the village, the man carrying the trunk leapt down his horse and placed the trunk on the ground. Others also dismounted, except one tall guy who appeared to be their leader. Still sitting on the horse, the guy made a gesture, and everyone besides the man carrying the trunk spread around and stormed into the houses one by one.

    Watching the agile and fast movement of these people, who no doubt processed high level martial arts, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could no longer pretend to be martial experts and both jumped onto the beam, crouching between it and the roof, where it was still comparably safe and hidden.

    They heard footsteps came and went, then finally the sound of something heavy being dropped on the ground. They couldnt help peep out and saw the trunk was moved into this house and placed just beneath them. Only then did they notice a dozen little holes were punched all over the surface of the trunk.

    Four men were guarding at the front and back door of the house, looking extremely anxious.
    Then someone walked inside the house. The two immediately stopped breathing the air and utilized their internal breath, dare not make any sound.

    These men were talking fast in a language they couldnt understand, which proved their assumptio that these people were from a foreign land, and further raised their suspicion.

    Suddenly they stopped talking.
    Only after a while did the two heard some hoof beats coming from outside. They grew even more afraid, because as it seemed, these people must have much better hearing than they did.

    After exchanging a few more lines, all the men went outside.
    Kou Zhong wrote on Xu Zilings back :Whats in the trunk must be a person. Why else would they punch so many holes on it?Xu Ziling nodded.

    At this moment the previous hoof beats had already entered the village, and from the sound of it they could guess their number should be about the same as the first group of people.

    The hoof beats ceased completely.
    The voice of a man rose :Zu Junyan under the Lord of Pushan pay his respect here. May your Shibi Khan always in good health.The Shibi Khan he referred to was the Khan of the Turks.
    A long laugh rose. So youre actually the famous Mister Zu Junyan, whos proficient in both literature and martial arts. Have you brought what our Khan had asked for?

    Zu Junyan answered calmly :General will you please let me know your name first?
    Another man on the Turks side spoke with a resonant voice :Everyone says that, of all the people under Master Li Mis command, Zu Junyan is the most knowledgeable one besides the Pretty Counsellor Shen Luoyan. How come you cannot recognize our General Yan?

    Zu Junyan chortled :So its General Yan Lihui, also known as the Twin-Spear General. And you must be the Valiant Lion Tie Xiong. Sorry I didnt recognize you just now.

    Yan Lihui gave out a cold snort and said :Put aside these nonsense, where is the thing we want?
    Zu Junyan answered indifferently:Ill have to see the mistress first before show you the precious item. Please forgive me general, its the order of Master Li.

    Hearing this Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were secretly shocked inside. The mistress Zu Junyan mentioned just now, could she be Susus mistress? Susu and her mistress were separated when they were ambushed by some people.
    Both were immediately reminded of the big trunk beneath them.
    Was it possible that Zhai Rangs daughter was hidden inside the trunk?

    =====================To be continued====================

    Some of you might have forgotten the names which was only mentioned briefly in Book 1 Chapter 10 :
    Zhai Rang: Known as the Big Brother, is the leader of a rebellion army called Wagang Army
    Li Mi: Prime General of Wagang Army, Zhai Rang's subordinate, also known as Lord of Pushan
    Last edited by xlandhenry; 03-17-13 at 11:07 AM.

  15. #195
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    Thanks xLandHenry. This Slavering Wolf's appetite for fresh meat has been assuaged for the present.

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    Thanks for the update xlandhenry!! I saw both the TV series "re-makes" and enjoyed it immensely, although the 2011 TV series seems very incomplete. Only thing I don't like about the novel is its length.... It is more than 800 Chapters long... and we're at 3% complete...

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    Quote Originally Posted by szfong View Post
    Thanks for the update xlandhenry!! I saw both the TV series "re-makes" and enjoyed it immensely, although the 2011 TV series seems very incomplete. Only thing I don't like about the novel is its length.... It is more than 800 Chapters long... and we're at 3% complete...
    Yes the length is a problem and partially the reason for which both adaptations are far from complete. As for the translation project...I really wish other translators or editors could join in to help.

  18. #198
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    Quote Originally Posted by xlandhenry View Post
    Yes the length is a problem and partially the reason for which both adaptations are far from complete. As for the translation project...I really wish other translators or editors could join in to help.
    btw, are you using any sort of computer-assisted translation tools? (Not machine translation apps, like Google or Bing). Most people who get paid for translating long documents, such as novels use them to make life ALOT easier for them.

    The software build, so called memory files, that are tailored for a particular long piece of work, and as you progress pass the 1st few chapters, phrase segments are created and the translation becomes faster, smarter, easier, and more automated.

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    Member xlandhenry's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by szfong View Post
    btw, are you using any sort of computer-assisted translation tools? (Not machine translation apps, like Google or Bing). Most people who get paid for translating long documents, such as novels use them to make life ALOT easier for them.

    The software build, so called memory files, that are tailored for a particular long piece of work, and as you progress pass the 1st few chapters, phrase segments are created and the translation becomes faster, smarter, easier, and more automated.
    I didn't use any software like that Now that you remind me, I will try to find a proper translation tool to help me, or do you have any recommendations? I'm willing to pay for such software, if it's really that good.
    Last edited by xlandhenry; 03-18-13 at 10:57 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by xlandhenry View Post
    I didn't use any software like that Now that you remind me, I will try to find a proper translation tool to help me, or do you have any recommendations? I'm willing to pay for such software, if it's really that good.
    It is often used in business or places such as the UN and pro/freelance translators.... It is often a "trade-secret / secret of the trade" that no one talks about . These translator will catalog / safeguard their so called "memory files" for future use. For example if you translate Jing Yong or Haung Yi, the same "memory files" can be used w/ very little changes & learning by the software for their other novels because they tend to use similar styles/phrases for all their books.

    Trados and Wordfast are the "industry standard".... Be sure to contact them and ask for a demo version of the software... Play around with them for a few weeks or longer before buying it!! Please go to their homepages and read up on them. If you do start using it, make sure you backup, safeguard & make many copies of your "constantly" updated "Translation Memory (TM) files"..... They are the "brains" that makes your particular translation do its "magic". They even sell generic "Translation Memory (TM) files" which I fail to find its usefulness as it only slightly reduces the amount of learning on certain "business" translation.

    What distinguishes their product cost is the size of the Translation Memory Files that are allowed to grow and various convenience features.

    http://www.translationzone.com/en/tr...essional/#tab3

    Trados is of course the market leader, and is more highly recommended..... They also give educational discounts for their products.

    http://www.trados.com/en/
    http://www.wordfast.com/
    http://www.wordfast.net/

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