<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="80%" bgcolor="#dcdcdc" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" bgcolor="#DCDCDC"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#eeeeee"><font size="1">Originally posted by Giant Eagle:
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OK that seems logical enough.

I see that Hong Zhen Tian must have planned to meet Yang Ji Shan. He must have known how much Chen and Yang hated each others' guts after all he had stayed long enough with the Holy Snake Clan to know Chen and Yang's sour history.

To gainYang's sympathy and trust, Hong must have a plausible story lest Yang Ji Shan suspects him of being a spy. ( which he turned out to be anyway)

was that your aim?

Sorry if I questioned your train of thoughts.

Speaking of thoughts, when you were writing about the Highlanders in the 2nd Chp, i had this image of Scotsmen in Kilts attacking. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

I understand you mean the inhabitants who lived in the highlands but the Braveheart theme song was playing at that time so my imagination was contaminated...

Finally a question. Why the title Qing Cheng Ji (傾城紀 <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">﹖ Is that the correct chinese term I wrote here?</STRONG></font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

Giant Eagle, of course Hong Zheng Tian knew about the hatred between the Yang Ji Fan and Chen Xu, but he stole the No Name Sword (later Vengeance Sword) to show his sincerity. Hong Zheng Tian went to Yang Ji Fan for protection because he knew that he was the only person who could withstand Chen Xu's attacks.

Hong Zheng Tian never intended to be a traitor. It was just that Chen Xu drugged his drink on the ship to make him obey his every command, which was to exhaust Yang Ji Fan's remaining internal energy by attacking Han Qing Feng. Hong Zheng Tian knew abotu it but could do nothing to stop himself under the influence of the drug. But Hong Zheng Tian did feel threatened by the presence of Han Qing Feng cos they both liked Qi Qian Yu.

When I wrote "Highlanders", I really meant people who lived in the highlands of the Southern Chinese Regions. I am a lazy person so i just wrote highlanders. Sorry for misleading you. No Mel Gibson in here! <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

I called this fanfic “傾城記”﹐ “Tale Of A Falling City" because of the fall of the Smoke Gathering City, which was a turning point in the lives of the main couple.

Th city fell due to Yang Ji Fan losing his confidence and intelligence in the battlefield due to the knowledge that Wan Qiu Ning was his neice and that she left him. (Not to forget that Song Yang betrayed the map of the city's secret tunnels to Chen Xu).

And it was this event that shaped the reason for the path of the story (e.g If Wan Qiu Ning did not leave, Qi Qian Yu would have starved to death on the island or be eaten by the cannibals there. And the three young couples would have not been paired in that arrangement had not Yang Ji Fan gone south to find Wan Qiu Ning).

And yeah, it fits in with the poem at the end.

I had actually had some other titles planned. Like:

(1)Fate of the Jade Pendants (玉佩奇&#32227 <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">
[Yu Pei Qi Yuan]
(2)Tale of the Ill-Fated (無緣&#35352 <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">
[Wu Yuan Ji]
(3)Adventures of Southern Travels (遊南&#35352 <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">
[You Nan Ji]
...etc...

But they sound too mushy and not suitable for a wu-xia title. And (3) reminds me of Journey to the West. So I ended up with "Tale of the Falling City".
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