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Thread: Kung Fu by Giddens Ko (功夫-九把刀)

  1. #381
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    Quote Originally Posted by 9Dragons View Post
    Some minor corrections:
    1. First sentence above is a run-on. Maybe use semicolon.
    2. Consummate misspelled. Maybe check previous entries too.
    3. Even if I was gained victory... > you can revise.
    4. "who's inner force" > change to whose

    Some observations:
    1. The author obviously did his homework, as the tomb was indeed discovered in 1974.
    2. Hard to imagine the artifacts remained intact from "the most dangerous and intense final battle ever fought."
    Thanks for the catches, I'll revise later. Yeah I have a tendency to misspell consummate, I'll go back and check.

    About your observation #2, actually one of the things I remember the tour guide saying when I visited the site was that many or most of the statues were actually broken by grave robbers, structural collapse and whatnot (or perhaps a dangerous and intense final battle haha). I also remember that they preserved many of the broken statues so that tourists can see what they actually looked like. In actuality, he probably wouldn't have seen a forest of statues at all, although I guess it would depend on where he was standing.
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Junior Member Valtize's Avatar
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    is this thread dropped, or will there ever be a new chapter?
    just wondering, no pressure or offence.

  3. #383
    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Valtize View Post
    is this thread dropped, or will there ever be a new chapter?
    just wondering, no pressure or offence.
    Hey everyone, sorry I disappeared for a while. A lot of bad luck in my life in the past few months, including computer problems, work problems, health problems, personal problems, blah blah blah.

    I feel ready to resume and finish the novel now. New update in a few minutes!
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

  4. #384
    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Three Hundred Years (5)

    There were three things that kept my belief alive.

    First, the mission entrusted to me by the sect. Justice requires high level kung fu, and the spirit of nobility must be passed down to further generations.

    Second, my heart could never be at peace. My vengeance against Lan Jin could not dissipate even after three hundred years.

    Third, Hua Maoers singing, which had accompanied me through three hundred years of slumber. The lyrics of her song did not take me to another world, but encouraged me to become the hero which she knew existed in her heart.

    Then what? asked Ah Yi.

    Then, the precious sword given to me by master was confiscated by a gang of thugs who called themselves police. Afterwards they beat me senseless. With a tone of loneliness, Master continued, I found a remote and quite place and began practicing Heaven Reaching inner arts. After about half a year, my martial arts were completely recovered, and I began my search for disciples. In that way I could not only pass on all of my kung fu, but in the process gain an understanding of what had happened in the world in the last three hundred years.

    Master put his chopsticks down and continued, But, as I traveled throughout China in the following five years, I unexpectedly was unable to find a single person capable of sensing an aura of death. So I robbed a gang, the kind you call a snakehead gang[120]. I used their boat to come here to Taiwan. Afterwards, I would occasionally row it to the Land of the Rising Sun, or another place called the Philippines, to search for disciples. If the boat capsized, I would walk along the ocean floor. Ai, those years were spent running around everywhere.

    I was somewhat moved emotionally, and also a little scared. What about Lan Jin. Why did he want you to wait for him? Did he ever find you?

    Master nodded. One of the main reasons I didnt go after him to seek revenge, other than my urgent desire to find disciples to become seeds of justice, was the two characters hed left written for me. If Lan Jin didnt kill anyone, I wouldnt be able to find him. I must accept what the Founder had told me. If Lan Jin ended his murderous ways, then there was no need to seek him out for revenge. If he had wanted to kill me, then he could have picked up the sword as soon as he awakened and ended my life quietly. Therefore, the fact that he left behind the two characters meant that he was supremely confident he could find me after I recovered, and cut me down. Even if he did find me, very well. My focus would be on my search for disciples. I would raise them to be the final generation of martial arts masters and heroes.

    After hearing Masters explanation of everything that had happened three hundred years ago, I finally believed all his strange stories.

    Masters martial arts were completely real, and fearsomely powerful. In the twentieth century, it was something truly miraculous, but as for three hundred years ago in Ming Dynasty China, when great heroes roamed the land, a world of dancing swords, this type of miraculous martial arts power was completely believable!

    With martial arts so incomparably powerful, and the strange conditions in the cave, it would be completely plausible to survive for three hundred years!

    But, there was something that I thought quite strange.

    Master, theres something off, I said suddenly. When you fell down in the cave, you were twenty three or twenty four. When you woke up in 1974, even though you were actually 324 years old, you really were actually still only 24. Right now its 1987, which means youre only 37! How come you look so old?

    Maybe, said Master with a bit of regret, its just a cruel trick played by Time. By some miracle, Time allowed me to sleep for three hundred years, but then three hundred years later, It would return to rob me of my youth. Every year I age faster and faster. I feel the pressure of time, and therefore, I used those fierce and distasteful methods to get you to become my disciples.

    Ah Yi took hold of the cold hotpot, then began circulating his inner force to heat it up. Its called side-effects.

    I suddenly realized that the same effects of time travel would affect Lan Jin, and thought to myself: No wonder Master doesnt go after Lan Jin, it really would be a waste of precious time. Even though Lan Jin is two years younger, the advanced aging effect will definitely have turned him into a white-haired old man. They might even die before they have a chance to fight.

    Master thought revenge was a trifling matter, and that martial arts and justice were paramount. So after his desperate search turned up me, he turned the snakes loose on Ah Yi and I, forced us to walk around on the ocean floor. He used all these dangerous martial arts training techniques so that Ah Yi and I would be able to complete our training before he died of old age.

    As for the Devil King Lan Jin, by the time he came to Taiwan, the three of us would be able to take care of him.

    And so, three hundred years of mystery was resolved over that nights hotpot meal. The pot boiled, then grew cold. After growing cold, it boiled again.

    As for Ah Yi and I, our blood boiled too, hot with the desire to practice martial arts.

    **

    [120] A snakehead is a person who arranges to illegally smuggle people out of China. If youre interested in the history of these gangs and how they work, I highly recommend the book Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe . Info about snakehead gangs: http://tinyurl.com/4lowjog. Link to the book: http://tinyurl.com/mllyma9
    Last edited by deathblade; 02-15-15 at 04:32 AM. Reason: formatting change
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

  5. #385
    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    I didn't notice this news item from a couple months ago, but looks like production on the movie has been delayed. Maybe it will give me more time to finish the translation before the movie comes out!

    https://my.entertainment.yahoo.com/n...062700790.html
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

  6. #386
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    Thanks - welcome back!

    Hope Giddens keep to the novel...

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    Hey bro. Welcome back. Glad you survived everything and became stronger.

  8. #388
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    *thumbs up*

    加油!

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    thanks for the post

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    Thanks deathblade!

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    Thanks deathblade

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    Paper airplane (1)

    Lets have dinner tonight at Ding Gua Gua [121], okay? said Yi Jing with a smile, her hand clasping in mine.

    Tonight wont work, Masters gonna teach us lightness arts! I pulled Yi Jing along as we walked together beneath the Giant Buddha of Ba Gua Mountain.

    After school let out, Ba Gua Mountain was filled with students in their school uniforms, especially the scenic areas around the Giant Buddha most were from Changhua Middle school and Changhua High School, which were located on the mountain itself.

    Really? Arent you going through your checklist a bit too quickly? Yi Jing was always very perceptive.

    Its a little soon, but Master has his reasons. Besides, Im basically a martial arts genius, so theres no harm in learning lightness arts a bit early. As I spoke, I noticed that standing beneath the Giant Buddha, next to a cart selling roast squid, was a foreigner. [122]

    A young, blonde-haired foreigner.

    Can I go watch you guys practice lightness arts? she said. I can talk with my tutor, Ill just arrange some makeup lessons later.

    I nodded happily and said, Great! Master will be glad. He always says that you are my Hua Maoer. [123]

    Im your cat? said Yi Jing, sounding puzzled.

    I hadnt told her Masters tragic tale, because he had instructed us not to reveal to anyone outside the sect the horrific history of Jianghu. For one thing, the story was just too strange, no one would believe it. Furthermore, matters of the sect should be handled by the sect.

    I sat there chatting with Yi Jing across from the Giant Buddha, staring curiously at the blonde foreigner.

    He stood there smiling, holding a freshly purchased roast squid and sizing up the passing students.

    How old is he? said Yi Jing. Its so hard to figure out the age of foreigners. Although, he is really handsome.

    I was a little bit jealous. So I opened my tattered backpack, ripped a page out of my math book and folded it into a paper airplane. Ill show him a thing or two, I said, pulling Yi Jing along until we were behind him.

    She knew I was jealous. With a laugh, she said, Stop it, what happens if somebody get killed?

    I snorted. Its just a paper airplane. With that, I infused the paper airplane with just a little bit of inner force and then said, Look at my personally invented secret weapon.

    I tossed the paper airplane gently toward the foreigners neck. I wanted to scare him a bit. Because it was imbued with some inner force, it would definitely leave a mark on his neck.

    The foreigner munched with gusto on the roast squid. There was no way he had even the slightest clue about my paper airplane sneak attack.

    But

    He didnt look back at all, just slowly lowered his head. The paper airplane flew straight over.

    I couldnt help but think that the foreigner really was a lucky bastard. He turned and smiled, his teeth glittering in the sunlight.

    He really was a handsome guy, at least ten times more handsome than MacGuyver. [123]

    Hefting his half-eaten squid, the handsome foreigner laughed at me in greeting. I could only respond with my own hollow laugh.

    And it was like that, beneath the Giant Buddha.

    A paper airplane opened up a hard-to-imagine world.

    The paper airplane ran into a stone lion and then fell to the ground.

    Hello. Very standard Chinese.

    The young foreigners smile was made even more brilliant by the golden setting sun.

    Yi Jing elbowed me, and I had no choice but to look at the young foreigner and say, somewhat embarrassedly, Hello.

    He looked at us curiously, and then quite amicably said, Are you two sweethearts?

    Yi Jing shook her hands in denial. When I saw how fluent the young foreigners Chinese was, I couldnt help but blurt out, Your Chinese is so good!

    Thank you, he said with elegant poise. I like Asian culture very much. With a smile, he walked toward us, carrying with him the last bit of his squid.

    It was a really embarrassing moment. I didnt usually get along very well with strangers.

    Yi Jing knew my personality, so she grabbed me and said, We have a makeup lesson to go to. See you! Hope you have a nice time in Taiwan!

    The blonde foreigner nodded. With a smile, he said, Taiwanese students really are busy.

    See you later, I said politely, pulling Yi Jing along down the stone steps leading away from the Giant Buddha.

    He chomped down on the squid and with a grin and said, You will.

    You will.

    The foreigners method of saying farewell was really weird. [124]

    Well, he was a foreigner after all.

    How are you going to practice lightness arts? asked Yi Jing curiously. In her hand she held a toy airplane made from foam board.

    Im not sure. Im sure Master will exceed all expectations as usual. Jokingly, I said, Any method is fine, as long as he doesnt push me and Ah Yi off a skyscraper. That would be pushing things a bit too quickly.

    Yi Jing laughed. Who knows, you might have to tie a barrel of water to your back and leapfrog up a staircase.

    I shook my head. Ah Yi and I have practiced walking around on the seafloor. Weve already developed leg strength and endurance that you wouldnt believe. Even if we had to carry bricks on our backs, it wouldnt be a big deal. Whatever Master has in mind, its definitely going to be scary. Think about it, to develop our inner force and palm strength, he had poisonous snakes bite us. Right?

    Yi Jing looked down the abandoned alley. In a quiet voice she said, Nobodys watching. Let me see how strong your legs are. Please?

    I looked around, and there was nobody around, so I found a piece of brick lying beneath a telephone pole. I stepped on it lightly with my foot and crushed it into dust.

    Yi Jing stared blankly. Actually, I said, bricks arent really very tough. I dont even need to circulate my inner force to smash it. A giant rock would be too tough. I couldnt handle that.

    Yi Jings face was filled with doubt. Dont you think its weird?

    Now I was confused. Whats weird?

    Yi Jing looked at me earnestly. How come your martial arts are so powerful?

    How come? I said dumbly. What a weird question. Ive been training hard for the past several months. How could I not be getting powerful?

    Yi Jing didnt seem convinced. I know youve been training really hard, but in just a couple months, you can break a wall with your hand, you can walk around on the seafloor, you can use inner force to expel poison from your blood. Dont you think your progress is just a bit too quick?

    **

    [121] I couldn't find much information, but it seems that Ding Gua gua is a fried chicken chain restaurant in Taiwan.
    [122] As a foreigner in China I take notice of what people call me, since there are many ways to refer to foreigners in Chinese. In this case he calls him 外国人 as opposed to 老外 or other less respectful terms.
    [123] Since MacGuyver was on TV when I was a kid, it seems so common to me, but perhaps some of you have never heard of it. One of my favorite shows when I was young. http://tinyurl.com/83ega
    [124] Right here he switches to 老外, as well as in the next instance in the next sentence.
    Last edited by deathblade; 10-06-14 at 08:49 AM. Reason: formatting change
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

  13. #393
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    Thanks, again!!!

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    Thanks for the chapter. Question, is that foreigner the big bad guy or the big bad guys disciple? I want to know but don't want to spoiler for others.

  15. #395
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    Quote Originally Posted by ghostpeople View Post
    Thanks for the chapter. Question, is that foreigner the big bad guy or the big bad guys disciple? I want to know but don't want to spoiler for others.
    ghostpeople, if you'd like I can send you a private message with that info. Everyone else, NO SPOILERS PLEASE.
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Quote Originally Posted by deathblade View Post
    ghostpeople, if you'd like I can send you a private message with that info. Everyone else, NO SPOILERS PLEASE.
    yes please

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    Thanks deathblade

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    Thanks deathblade

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    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Paper airplane (2)

    Correct.

    It really was a bit strange.

    I had seen a performance on television before, on a program called Slugger Attack, [125] in which they invited a wrinkly old martial arts Qigong master onto the show. The host had called him a national treasure and a true martial artist. He used inner force to increase the temperature of some water in a pot by two, maybe three degrees. Hed also done a kung fu demonstration where he used his hands to smash some bricks.

    But

    Within a few minutes, I could use my inner force to bring a pot of water to the boil.

    Id never tried to smash bricks with my hands, but I had the strength to knock down a wall with my palms, that was way above the level of smashing some sissy bricks.

    But

    I had only practiced kung fu for a few months.

    The same with Ah Yi. Even though he sucked.

    Its because Im a martial arts genius.

    I said it, and looked Yi Jing in her large eyes.

    Thats right, I was a genius who could naturally sense auras of death. One in ten million.

    Yi Jing looked at me earnestly. So are you going to become a hero?

    I nodded. I will. Maybe its just my destiny to be a hero, and that's why I was born with these abilities.

    As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I suddenly thought of Masters mortal enemy, the super genius who had laid waste to the martial worldLan Jin.

    Born with unparalleled natural talent for martial arts, yet completely lacking a chivalrous and benevolent spirit. A real bastard.

    Because of this bastard, the martial arts legacy of Jianghu had been destroyed, and a precious consummate national tradition could not be handed down from generation to generation. The Eight-Nation Alliance bullied us, forced us to sign an unequal treaty [126], and it was all because the Chinese People had no super-powered martial artists. No wonder we couldnt stand up to the boats and cannons of the foreigners. And the so-called national treasure martial arts masters could only go onto television to heat some water up and break a few bricks.

    The true conservator of unparalleled divine skills could only lay asleep in fake death before finally climbing out the yellow earth to see the light of days three hundred years later.

    As Master had repeatedly emphasized, martial arts practitioners must have valiant hearts, and should only attack when necessary. As far as putting on performances and that king of thing, Master had never even considered such a thing.

    As for me, I completely agreed with Masters way of thinking. Yet, having such amazing martial arts and only being able to float along with the ignorant masses, in the end, it was such a lonely existence.

    True heroes are always lonely.

    Yi Jing suddenly gripped my hand tightly.

    Its really wonderful to have a hero at your side. Her hand clasped mine tightly.

    Thanks. I felt a feeling much more turbulent than inner force, surging forth from Yi Jings small hand.

    What are you thanking me for? A strange expression covered her face.

    I dont know. My expression must have been very strange as well.

    For me, a middle-school student, to be Yi Jings exclusive hero truly made me happy.

    Hey! See if you can catch this! Yi Jing laughed. A toy cardboard airplane appeared in her hand and she launched it into the air.

    The airplane slid into the sky. I released Yi Jings hand and was about to pursue it, when suddenly I couldnt move.

    An aura of death!

    Whats wrong? Yi Jing could see that my face had turned white, and my palms were sweating.

    Dont speak. My heart was about to stop beating.

    It was the first time I ever felt such a sinister aura of death.

    This was completely different from Masters roiling tide; this aura surged with ruthlessness.

    I gritted my teeth. Sweat covered my whole body.

    The nature of an aura of death always corresponds to the personality of its owner.

    And its size will always relate to the kung fu level of its owner.

    This aura of death was emanating from five hundred meters ahead! And it was moving straight toward my house!

    Ouch! I had squeezed Yi Jings hand so hard that it was hurting her.

    I released her and then hurriedly said, Yi Jing, get out of here. Dont follow me! Theres a bad guy nearby!

    Looking frightened to death, she replied, Ill call the police for you!

    Sending police here would just be sending them to their graves. Get home, quickly! I raced toward my house.

    This aura of death definitely was not Masters.

    And I definitely was no match for whoever it belonged too.

    But if this person wanted to wreak havoc at my house; I would have to do what I could, even if it wasnt enough.

    My hand gripped the flute I had used in music class today. There was no time to think about strategy.

    Wait! Another aura of death!

    Another aura of death, so powerful it seemed it could topple the mountains and drain the seas! It, too, raced toward my house.

    It was pure, intense, fierce.

    It was Master!

    In the distance, I caught sight of him as he leaped from the top of a telephone pole, straight into the hole in my bedroom wall.

    I couldnt be

    My shock seemed to have no limits, and suddenly I couldnt move forward.

    In the time span of a single heartbeat, two auras of death, two violent storms, both disappeared.

    I couldnt take even a single step forward, because emanating faintly from the hole in my wall was pure killing intent.

    In a showdown between two world-class masters, auras of death are not needed.

    Auras of death are merely used as a way of greeting, a call to death.

    I stood there, about ten meters away from my house, looking up at the hole.

    I could see Masters green Tang suit moving about.

    And then it was gone.

    I mustered my courage, took a deep breath, and charged into the hole. Master stood there, my quilt slung over his shoulder. He said nothing.

    What about the owner of that sinister aura of death?

    Master looked at me, and then pointed at my quilt.

    I nearly fainted.

    Master, my bulging quilt slung over his shoulder, leaped out of the hole and then flew from telephone pole to telephone pole toward Bagua Mountain.

    An aroma wafted out from the ragged hole into the night, an aroma that is uniquely present during winter.

    Along with the flavor of perplexity.

    Ah Yi held the hotpot in his hands, and the broth slowly heated up.

    Was it Lan Jin? I asked.

    I dont know. Confusion filled Masters face. That old mans martial arts were very advanced, he said. We exchanged three stances very quickly. His three stances were incredibly ruthless, and his inner force was incredibly powerful, but

    **

    [125] I found numerous references to this game show in various articles, but no articles about the show itself.
    [126] He's referring to when several the foreign countries sacked Beijing and forced China to sign the Boxer Protocol. The Eight Nation Alliance http://tinyurl.com/2u4k8c. The Boxer Protocol http://tinyurl.com/lmbmhn6
    Last edited by deathblade; 10-13-14 at 01:35 AM. Reason: fixed typos, changed some wording, added missing word
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Wow. Why stop there!!! Thanks Deathblade.

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