7 Killers - Gu Long

[deathblade]

I went back through the old posts and put all the translation notes into footnotes. Soon we'll be finished with chapter 8, and the entire story! After that I'll go back and do a full edit of the story. There are some parts I realized afterwards that I translated wrong.

Also, I feel like "7 Killers" is a more appropriate title for this work, instead of "7 Assassins." In English, an assassin is a person hired to kill or assassinate individuals, as opposed to the seven people in this story who are just professional killers. Any thoughts on this?

And I'm also considering what to do after this story. Should I start another translation...? If I do, I'd like to stick to a shorter story so that I can be confident that I'll finish it. Is there already a translation of "Heroes Shed No Tears 英雄无泪"?

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks deathblade for a quick update.

7 Killers does sound more appropriate.

Look forward to your next translation.

[LuDongBin]

Deathblade, I think 英雄无泪 was partially translated here: http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthre...ears-bu-GuLong.

It would be nice if u could finish this. Thanks.

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, deathblade.

[Anh Nam]

Thanks deathblade

[theSwordoftheWest]

Thanks deathblade.

I think 7 killers is good too, it have a nice ring to it.
Besides we do not want to get confuse with 7 fingers 7 assasins with the 7 people who safeguard the Lovesickness's Cave.

[ycb5959]

'Heroes shed no tears' should be a great book. I watched the shaw bros adaptation and love it. I am sure the novel will be much better. The downside is that, assuming the movie kept to the book's ending, the reader already knows many of the twists and turns. Unlike this obscure '7 killers'

I love the opening of 'heroes', with the mention of flying daggers- again.

[deathblade]

Okay, I think I'll officially change it to 7 Killers. And looks like I will take a stab at Heroes Shed No Tears. However, this time I will try to finish the whole book once before starting the translation. This time, i started the translation after I was basically reading a chapter or two ahead of my translation. For Heroes Shed No Tears I'll do it a bit differently ;-P

The end of 7 Killers is in sight, but it might need to wait until mondays. Weekends are the most busy work time for me so I probably won't be able to do any translating for the next couple days.

[LuDongBin]

Looking forward to Heroes Shed No Tears then. Appreciate your continuing interest in translating for us folks. Thanks deathblade.

[ycb5959]

3 cheers for HSNT!!!
Thanks! Really enjoyed 7 killers

[Ren Wo Xing]

Per your decision, I went ahead and changed the title to 7 Killers.

[deathblade]

Per your decision, I went ahead and changed the title to 7 Killers.

Thank you!

[deathblade]

Chapter 8 – Heaven’s net is wide meshed, nothing escapes it.

Part 2

Dusk.

There is dusk every day, but every dusk is different.

Similarly, every person dies, and yet there are many types of death. Some people die bravely and with honor, others die in an ordinary and humble way.

Power of Hu’s death was neither ordinary nor humble.

Many had come to his mourning hall to pay respects. (1) Some were his disciples and friends, others merely came to because of his reputation. There was one person missing.

Madam Lovesickness had not arrived.

Liu Changjie wasn’t anxious. He hadn’t even asked about her.

And he hadn’t stopped Dragon Fifth from leaving. He’d known all along that Dragon Fifth would leave, the same as he knew Qiu Hengbo would arrive.

Dragon Fifth seeing her would only complicate matters. (2)

Qiu Hengbo would come, so Dragon Fifth had no choice but to leave.

When seeing Dragon Fifth off, he’d taken him to the end of the corridor and said, “I’ll definitely come looking for you.”

“When? When will you come?”

Liu Changjie laughed. “When it’s time to drink, of course.”

Dragon Fifth laughed. “I’m always drink at Heavenly Fragrance.”

**

The mourning all had been set up in the spacious, ancient main hall.

Liu Changjie was nowhere to be seen, only the white-haired old servant, along with effigies of a virgin boy and a virgin girl keeping vigil over the coffin.

The night was deep.

Eerie lamplight shone onto the exhausted face of the old servant. He himself looked like an effigy.

Mourning couplets, written on strips of white cloth, were hung all about, and there were piles of paper effigies of houses, horses, ships, and other lucky objects.

These things had been gathered in preparation to be burned on the nights of “Receiving the Third” and “Accompanying Night.” (3)

The effigy of the horse cart was remarkably true to life. It had a man leading the horses, a man driving the cart, even extra helpers, horse tackle and whips. Their livery, their faces, were all extremely lifelike. It was unfortunate that Power of Hu couldn’t see it.

The night wind was dull and desolate, the lamplight flickered, and then the shadow of a visitor floated into the room.

The visitor was wearing mourning clothes on top, and underneath, the dark clothes of someone who wishes to remain hidden at night.

The old servant raised his head and glanced at him. He knelt down, and the old servant knelt alongside. He kowtowed, and the old servant kowtowed with him.

When a famous hero of the martial world like Power of Hu passes away, it’s relatively common for unknown figures of the Jianghu world to come in the dead of night to pay respects.

It wasn’t an unusual thing, and was nothing to be shocked about or to even ask questions about.

And yet, this night visitor asked, “Master Hu is really dead?”

The old servant nodded his head.

“But the old man was fine just a few days ago. How could he suddenly pass away?”

“A storm may arise from a clear sky,” said the old servant gloomily. “People have mornings and evenings, disaster and happiness. These matters, no one can predict.”

“How did the old man pass?” It seemed this passing visitor was very interested in Power of Hu’s death.

“He died of sickness. He had a very serious disease.”

The visitor let out a long sigh. “I didn’t see the old man for such a long time. I had no idea I would never see him again.”

“Sadly, you were just a bit too late.”

“Would it be possible for me to pay homage to his remains?” It seemed this visitor couldn’t let go of the idea of seeing Power of Hu.

“No.” The old servant’s response was very direct. “Others can. You can’t.”

The visitor seemed shocked. “Why not?”

The old servant lowered his head. “Because he didn’t know you.”

The visitor seemed more shocked. “How do you know that he didn’t know me?”

“Because I don’t know you,” replied the servant coldly.

“So you know everyone he knew?”

The old servant nodded.

The visitor also lowered his head. “And if I’m set on seeing him?”

“I know that you don’t want to see him,” was the cold response. “The person who wants to see him is not you.”

The visitor frowned. “You know who does want to see him?”

The old servant nodded again. With a cold laugh, he said, “I’m only confused about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Madam Autum doesn’t think the master is dead, so she wants to see his corpse. Why didn’t she come herself, instead of sending a Five Gates thief like yourself to harass his spirit?”

The visitor’s face changed. His hands flipped out to reveal a pair of poison-coated deerskin gloves.

The old servant refused to look at him.

The visitor laughed. “Even if I’m just a Five Gates thief, I can still take your life.”

It seemed he really was ready to spring to action, but at that exact moment, a cold laugh could be heard. “Shut your mouth and get out of here. Get the hell out!”

**

The voice was mesmerizing, as mesmerizing as if it had emanated from heaven.

A third person could not be seen in the mourning hall, and it was impossible to tell where the voice came from.

The old servant did not seem shocked at all. His face was completely expressionless. “So you finally came,” he said coldly. “I knew you would come.”

————————————————————————————

(1) What I’m translating as “paying respects” literally means to offer sacrifices to the dead. I’m sure most of you know that in Chinese culture this involves kowtowing, burning incense or money, etc.
(2) The Chinese here is (in my opinion) really vague (a key characteristic of Chinese sometimes). The direct translation would be “to see something bothersome, is not as good as not seeing it.” The underlying meaning is my translation…
(3) These are names of different days associated with traditional funeral customs. I couldn’t find any information about official English translations, so these are my personal translations.

[ycb5959]

Thanks - and a great cliff hanger!

[deathblade]

Thanks - and a great cliff hanger!

Only a bit more left to translate, but don't worry, there are more twists. Wahaha!

Sorry for all the mistakes in the original post. I've already edited it like 5 times. If anyone catches more mistakes please let me know!

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks deathblade. More stuff - I thought it was the ending already.

[ycb5959]

Minor error:
Power of Hu’s death was niether ordinary nor humble.

[Anh Nam]

Thanks deathblade

[deathblade]

Minor error:
Power of Hu’s death was niether ordinary nor humble.

Thanks, I'll fix it!

[deathblade]

Chapter 8 – Heaven’s net is wide meshed, nothing escapes it.

Part 3

The visitor backed up step by step, until he was gone from the mourning hall.

Left behind was only the white-haired, haggard old servant, illuminated by the desolate, eerie lamp.

And then, the entire mourning hall was filled with a voice.

“Justice of Hu.” She was addressing the old servant by name. “Since you knew I sent him here, why wouldn’t you let him see the master’s remains?”

Justice of Hu’s reply was just as clear-cut. “Because he’s not worthy.”

“And me? Am I worthy?”

“The master predicted that you wouldn’t believe he was really dead.”

“Oh?”

“Therefore, he instructed me to wait for your arrival before sealing the coffin.”

“Don’t tell me he wants to see me one more time, too?” She was laughing.

Her laughter was both beautiful and sinister.

As the laughter was ringing out, the paper effigies suddenly shattered into millions of pieces. (1)

Countless shreds of paper flitted about the mourning hall like colorful butterflies.

And within the flying butterflies, a person floated down, looking like a beautiful white flower that had just bloomed.

She wore a long, snow-white robe, and her face was covered with a white gauze veil. Her body looked like a white cloud that in an instant alighted in front of Justice of Hu.

His face was still completely expressionless—he’d known Madam Lovesickness would arrive.

He’d known long ago, and had been waiting for her for a long time.
“Can I look at the master’s remains now?”

“Of course you can,” said Justice of Hu calmly. “Who knows, maybe the master really did want to see you one more time.”

**

The coffin was not sealed.

Power of Hu lay quietly within, seeming more serene and peaceful than he had in life.

Perhaps it was because he knew that no one in the world would ever again be able to force him to do things against his will.

Madam Lovesickness finally let out a soft sigh. “It seems he really is gone.”

“It seems you’re happy he went first.”

“Because I know that dead people can’t take anything with them when they go.”

“He’s definitely not taking anything with him.”

“If he’s not taking anything with him, then he should leave those things for me.”

“What should be given to you has already been given.”

“Where?”

“Right here.”

“And why don’t I see anything?”

“Because what you promised to bring to him, is not here.”

“Even if I brought it, he couldn’t see it.”

“I could see it.”

“Unfortunately, I didn’t promise you. Hu Yue’er isn’t your daughter!”

Justice of Hu said nothing.

“Where are the items?”

“Right here.”

“I still don’t see anything.”

“Because I don’t see Hu Yue’er.”

Madam Lovesickness laughed coldly. “I’m afraid you’ll never see her again.”

Justice of Hu also laughed coldly. “In that case, you’ll never see the things you want.”

“At the least, I can see one more thing.”

“Oh?”

“At the least,” she said coldly, “I can see your head fall to the ground.”

“Sadly, my head isn’t worth even one coin.”

“Worthless things are sometimes very desirable.”

“In that case, come get it whenever you want.”

Madam Lovesickness laughed. “You know very well that I’m not going to kill you.”

“Oh?”

“As long as you have at least one breath left, there’s still a way for me to get you to tell the truth.”

Her hand suddenly flicked out like an orchid.

Justice of Hu didn’t move.

Another hand suddenly shot out like lightning to meet hers.

There was no third person in the hall, so where did the hand come from. Could it be that it came from within the coffin?

The hand did not shoot out from the coffin.

It was neither a dead hand, nor a hand made from paper.

The effigies were already shattered into the countless shreds that still fluttered about like butterflies.

“I was also waiting for your arrival.” From within the fluttering butterflies appeared a smiling face.

Liu Changjie laughed.

But within his laughter could be heard an unspeakable pain.

Because, the energy of his palm strike had already lifted up Madam Lovesickness’s gauze veil. He could finally lay eyes on her face.

From the very beginning, he would never have been able to guess that this gloomy, mysterious woman, was actually Hu Yue’er.

————————————————————————————

(1) There is an additional line that I’m leaving out. It describes the paper effigies shattering, “as if there were an invisible fire that just exploded.” It just sounds weird in English…