Heroes Shed No Tears - Gu Long

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, deathblade.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks deathblade .. roller-coaster ride

[deathblade]

Chapter 1: A solitary box

Part 5

The outer courtyard was illuminated brilliantly and was filled with the clamor of voices.

Little Gao squeezed his way through the crowd. He wasn’t one of Sima Chaoquan’s invited guests, so he couldn’t enter the main hall, which shone even more gloriously with lamplight.

The inside hall was also packed with people, but these people were all famous, with status, positions and power.

In addition to these famous individuals, there were also several strapping men dressed in dark green gowns of satin and sheepskin. They were strong and nimble as they received the guests, and their eyes shone. They definitely would not allow anything improper to happen, no matter how small.

Suddenly the voices grew quiet.

The chief of the “Steward of the 39 Northern Roads Great Protection Agency,” the most powerful person in the martial world, the forever undefeatable Sima Chaoqun, had finally appeared.

Sima Chaoqun walked out wearing a black and white garment, carefully tailored to make him look even more powerful and tall than normal, and look younger than his actual age.

He greeted the guests in a forthright and honest fashion, and even walked to the stone steps at the front of the hall to wave at the crowd in the outer courtyard.

Amidst the ear-spliting shout that followed, what Little Gao was paying attention to wasn’t Sima Chaoqun, it was two other people.

Their clothing and features were very ordinary, but their eyes were cold and fearsome, filled with murder.

They weren’t standing together, and they didn’t look at each other, but each of them had a group of eight or nine people close by watching them, careful to maintain a suitable distance.

Little Gao smiled.

He could tell that these two people were here for Yang Jian, first class assassins dispatched by Zhu Meng.

He could also see that Sima Chaoqun and Zhuo Donglai had put him in the same group as them, as there were people keeping an eye on him as well. Actually, there were a lot of people watching him. Zhuo Donglai must suspect him of being the most dangerous of them all.

“But Zhuo Donglai made a mistake this time!” Little Gao smiled to himself. “Assigning people to watch me is really a waste of manpower.”

**

On a long table in the middle of the great hall, two huge red candles had been lit.

Sima Chaoqun sat in front of the table in a violet-red sandalwood chair, over which was draped a tiger skin.

In front of the chair was spread a red felt, upon which was a violet satin prayer mat.

The grand ceremony was about to start.

The two men with the murderous eyes had already begun to move forward slowly. The men watching them followed, their hands reaching underneath their robes.

Obviously they had deadly weapons hidden in their garments.

If these two took any action, the men’s hands would spring forth with weapons and slaughter them in a split second, before they even reached the great hall.

Little Gao was certain these two wouldn’t succeed.

—There was definitely a third person, and this was who Zhu Meng had actually sent to assassinate Yang Jian.

It turned out Little Gao thought the same way as Zhuo Donglai. The only difference was that he knew the third person wasn’t himself.

—Who was this person?

Little Gao’s pupils suddenly constricted.

He’d caught sight of a person who normally wouldn’t attract any attention, dodging through the crowd.

And an ordinary, old-fashioned box, which definitely wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.

He wanted to push his way forward, but the crowd was too packed. The star of the grand ceremony had just entered the main hall.

**

Yang Jian’s face was pale and sallow, but he was smiling.

He was being escorted in by six people.

Little Gao didn’t recognize these six men, but almost anyone who had any experience wandering in Jianghu would know them. Most of them were famous masters in the Protection Agency industry, but even more impressive was that one of them was “Cloudy Sky,” the notorious bandit who in recent years had run amok on the Guanluo Road. (1)

Under the protection of six masters like this, who could possibly harm Yang Jian?

He had already reached the red felt, and was standing in front of the violet mat prepared especially for him to bow to Sima Chaoqun. (2)

In that very moment, the outer courtyard burst into motion. There were already twenty people amidst the crowd who were on the ground, bleeding and screaming miserably.

The people who had fallen were not just Zhuo Donglai’s subordinates. Many were just random innocents.

This was the plan set upon by Han Zhang and the Wooden Chicken.

They obviously knew people were watching them, so before they made their move, they would try to throw the crowd into chaos by shedding innocent blood.

Amidst the chaos, they would fly forward and pounce on Yang Jian.

Little Gao didn’t even glance at them.

He knew that no matter what method they used, they wouldn’t succeed. He was watching the person carrying the box.

And yet, this person had already disappeared.

**

Sima Chaoqun sat tall in the violet-red sandalwood chair. His countenance and facial expression did not change.

The assassins had already been contained outside of the main hall.

Yang Jian had already been whisked away by the six masters, out through a door in the back of the main hall.

Little Gao had already determined which direction the door faced.

The men following him were distracted, so Little Gao suddenly dashed forward into the main hall, and then used a strange and indescribable martial arts move to slide across the wall and out a window.

The window and the door both faced the same direction.

Part 6

Outside the window was a small courtyard filled with the fragrance of plums and pine trees, a scent that would cause anyone to feel extremely happy. The long, gloomy walkway on the side of the courtyard was packed with black-garbed guards. Long blades hung from their waists.

At the end of the walkway was a door.

As soon as Little Gao shot out of the window, he caught sight of Cloudy Sky and the others carrying Yang Jian through the door.

And then the door shut.

The black-garbed guards had already unsheathed their long blades. The blades gleamed, and ten of the guards charged toward Little Gao.

They didn’t ask who Little Gao was? They didn’t ask why he was here?

Because they had received orders: if any stranger entered the courtyard, they were to kill on sight, no questions asked!

**

Little Gao didn’t explain why he was here, or what the circumstances were. It was already past the time when words could be used to make explanations.

At the moment, the only thing he could do was attack first, using his fastest techniques.

He had to get through the door at the end of the walkway, as quickly as possible.

The light of the blade shimmered forth, despite the fact that Little Gao’s sword was still wrapped up in cloth.

He didn’t draw the sword. Using only the rough cloth sheathing, he had already flicked aside four blades, and knocked down four people.

In a flash, he entered the walkway. Seven or eight more men attacked him. He felled them, and dashed toward the door.

But Zhuo Donglai had already reached the door.

He had been hiding behind the scenes the whole time. If there was any sort of sudden change, he could appear at a moment’s notice.

Little Gao looked at him and let out a long breath. “I thought I would make it on time, but sadly I’m late.”

Blades flickered behind him, but Little Gao didn’t look back. Zhuo Donglai waved a hand and the descending blade light suddenly disappeared.

“Why are you here?” asked Zhuo Donglai coldly. “What do you want?”

“I just want to see someone.”

“Who?”

“A killer.”

Zhuo Donglai smiled coldly. “No one can kill anyone here.”

“They can,” said Little Gao. “There’s one who can.”

Zhuo Donglai’s expression suddenly changed, because he had just caught scent of the faint reek of blood.

Shockingly, the smell of the blood emanated from behind the door.

Zhuo Donglai turned around and pushed opened the door, and in that moment, it seemed as if he had fallen into hell.

**

(1) Guan Luo refers to a region in North China somewhere between Shaanxi and Luoyang. Later on you will find out that most of the story takes place in Chang’an and Luoyang.
(2) The word here literally is “拜师” bai shi, which means for a person to formally bow before a master to become their pupil or disciple. It doesn’t mention Sima Chaoqun by name, but for clarity’s sake I’m adding his name in there.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks deathblade for the quick update.

[LuDongBin]

A deadly cliff hanger! Deathblade, deathblade .....

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, deathblade.

[deathblade]

A deadly cliff hanger! Deathblade, deathblade .....

That's always the best way to leave it!!

For now you can cheat a bit if you want by checking the other translation, but soon that won't be an option. Wahahahaha!

[deathblade]

Chapter 1: A solitary box

Part 7

Behind the door was what used to be a delicate, resplendent room. As of now, it had been turned into hell.

Hell does not contain living people, and neither did this room.

The seven living people who had just entered the room would never live again. Some had throats cut open, some had hearts impaled, stabbed through from front to back.

The most miserable of all was Yang Jian.

His head was nowhere to be seen, and scattered next to his body were a handful of paper cards. Written on each card were eight characters: “This is the end fate of a traitor!”

**

There were four windows in the room, and they were all open.

Where was the killer?

The stars twinkled outside the open windows, and from far off could be heard the raucous sound of drums and gongs. Tonight was the night of the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, so there was no night curfew. (1)

Zhuo Donglai stood sliently for a long time, the cold wind blowing on his face. Surprisingly, he didn’t dispatch people to pursue the assassin. Instead, he turned around and stared at Little Gao.

“You knew killers had been sent here?”

“If I knew, then you should have known as well.” He sighed. “I’ve been wanting to see that person for a long time.”

“But there wasn’t just one killer.”

The throats had been cut with slender, sharp blade. The hearts had been pierced with an extremely sharp-tipped spear.

And Yang Jian’s head had been lopped off with some sort of ax.

Zhuo Donglai seemed calm again. Calm and composed.

“You should be able to tell that there were at least three people here,” he said. “There is nobody who can use three different methods, and completely different weapons, to kill people.”

“Yes, there is.” Little Gao’s response was completely heartfelt. “There’s one.”

“You really believe that there is a person like this in the world? Some master who can use three different weapons at the same time to kill seven people?”

“Yes!” said Little Gao, with complete confidence. “Who knows, maybe there’s even two people. But definitely at least one.”

“Who is this person?”

“I don’t know.” Little Gao sighed again. “If you hadn’t blocked my way just now, I might have had a chance to see him.”

Zhuo Donglai continued to stare at him. He felt as if though his palms were sweating.

“Alhtough,” said Little Gao, “I actually didn’t know he was here in Chang’an. And I never imagined that he would be working as an assassin for Zhu Meng.”

Zhuo Donglai continued to stare at him for a long time. He stared at his facial expression, his bearing, the way he stood, the cloth-wrapped sword in his hand. He suddenly said, “I believe you. If you want to leave, you can leave.”

The standers-by were shocked to hear this. This was not Zhuo Donglai’s style. He had never let someone off so easily.

The only reason he would do something like this was if he thought Little Gao was very dangerous. Under those circumstances, he wouldn’t want to give rise to any more trouble.

Little Gao laughed.

“I know that I can leave any time I want,” he said. “The thing is, I don’t want to go.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“My surname isn’t Li, and my given name isn’t Huicheng. Furthermore, I didn’t come here for Yang Jian.”

“I know,” said Zhuo Donglai. “Because of that, I’m letting you leave.”

“Actually, there are a lot of things you don’t know.” Little Gao laughed. “And because you don’t know, I’m not leaving.”

Zhuo Donglai’s hands clenched into fists.

He suddenly realized that this young man had a streak of unruliness that was at first difficult to detect. He was like a wild animal that had just wandered down from the deep mountains, not the least bit afraid of anything or any person.

“I’m surnamed Gao, and I came here for a person.”

“For who?”

“For Sima Chaoqun. The undefeatable Sima Chaoqun.”

Within Zhuo Donglai’s clenched fists, cold sweat sprang forth.

“You’re Gao Jianfei! The young swordsman Gao Jianfei who in three months time assassinated the four greatest masters of the sword sects Kunlun, Huashan, and Kongtong!”

“Yes,” said LittleGao. “That’s me.”

**

The night grew darker, the wind blew harder.

“I don’t kill people in secret,” said Little Gao. “So set a date, and a place. I want to find out if Sima Chaoqun really is undefeatable.”

Zhuo Donglai laughed. “I guarantee that you will find out. I just wish you didn’t have to.”

Part 8

There was no curfew on the long street. The flower markets and festive lanterns were very picturesque.

There were all types of lanterns and all types of people. But it seemed as if Little Gao didn’t notice them at all.

Zhuo Donglai had promised to offer a response within one month, and had promised to give him a chance at a fair fight with Sima Chaoqun.

This was why he had come to this place, and yet it seemed as if he was not very focused on the matter.

As of now, his mind was focused on a solitary person, and a solitary box.

—Exactly what kind of person was he? Exactly what kind of fearsome weapon was this box?

Part 9

At the same moment, amidst the black of night and the cold blowing wind, a solitary person, carrying a solitary box, quietly left the ancient city of Chang’an.

**

(1) The fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar is Lantern Festival, or in Chinese “yuan xiao jie” and marks the official end of Spring Festival.

[deathblade]

End of Chapter 1!

[WesY2K]

Great translation! Thank you very much!

[LuDongBin]

I am sorely tempted to peek into the other translation. But at the rate you are translating, I dun need to. Thks for the update.

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, deathblade.

[deathblade]

I am sorely tempted to peek into the other translation. But at the rate you are translating, I dun need to. Thks for the update.

The other translation goes up to Chapter 2 part 2, so I will catch up to it maybe tomorrow, or monday at the latest. =D

[ycb5959]

The other translation goes up to Chapter 2 part 2, so I will catch up to it maybe tomorrow, or sunday at the latest. =D

That's fantastically fast- watching this thread closely!

[deathblade]

That's fantastically fast- watching this thread closely!

TYPO! Tomorrow or MONDAY at the latest. Haha. Thinking about too many things at once!

[deathblade]

Chapter 2: An important head

The sixteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar.

Red Flower Bazaar.

Blowing snow filled the sky.

A galloping horse braved the snow gusts to charge toward the Red Flower Bazaar, which lay approximately fifty miles to the southwest of Chang’an city.

Lantern Festival was over, the happy days had passed.

A dilapidated lantern rolled down the snow-filled street, pushed along by the never ending cold wind. Even though it carried with it some of the feeling of the festivities of the previous night, at this point no one even glanced at it. It was like a woman doted upon for a night, then abandoned the next day.

The rider on the horse stopped outside of the bazaar and tied his horse to an old tree. He threw off his cloak, which was stitched from fine, expensive material, to reveal a padded jacket of blue brocade. He pulled out a hemp sack out from the saddle, along with an oilpaper umbrella and a set of cleats.

He put on the cleats, opened the oilskin umbrella and hoisted the hemp sack. He looked just like any other rich country folk.

Taking one careful step at a time, he entered the Red Flower Bazaar.

**

Inside the hemp sack was a great secret, something that could shake the heavens and the earth. He knew what the secret was, only him.

He’d come here to deliver the item in the sack to a brothel in the Red Flower Bazaar, and to a specific person.

—What was in this sack? Who was it for?

If anyone knew the nature of this secret, the man would in a split second be torn to pieces by blades, his father and mother, wife and children, all relatives, would be slaughtered within three days. His entire family would be wiped out.

Luckily, the secret would not be revealed. He would not reveal it, nor could anyone find out the secret.

Because no one could possibly have guessed that “Fierce Lion” Zhu Meng would have left his heavily fortified headquarters in Luoyang to charge alone into Sima Chaoqun’s territory.

Even Zhuo Donglai, who always thought of and planned for everything, would never imagine that Zhu Meng would dare to take such a risk.

[deathblade]

FYI, the second paragraph of part 2 makes it clear that this rider is not Zhu Meng. Don't want anyone to be confused ;-)

[ycb5959]

Thanks - one more update, and we are good to go!!!

I was comparing the opening of the latest update against the old thread. I think I prefer your version a tad more, as it manages to invoke certain wuxia imageries in my mind. Maybe its because I am already used to your style (from 7 assassins).

[deathblade]

Thanks - one more update, and we are good to go!!!

I was comparing the opening of the latest update against the old thread. I think I prefer your version a tad more, as it manages to invoke certain wuxia imageries in my mind. Maybe its because I am already used to your style (from 7 assassins).

Thanks. I'm trying to keep my translation as accurate as possible. If there's even the slightest thing I'm not certain about, I will research it to make sure what I'm translating is correct. That having been said, my main goal is to keep the feeling as close to possible to the original, and to do that I sometimes play with the grammar, word order, etc. But I never leave out or change anything!

Glad you're enjoying it!

[deathblade]

BIG MISTAKE CORRECTION:

I was going too fast in my last translation and misread the distance of the Red Flower Bazaar to Chang'an city as 160 厘米 limi, or meters. It's actually 160里 li....... 1 li is about half a kilometer, so Red Flower Bazaar is about 80 kilometers or 50 miles away from Chang'an.

I changed the translation. This is relatively important because in the story, the distance between different locations plays a part in the timeline of various events.