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Thread: Dragon King with Seven Stars by Gu Long

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    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Default Dragon King with Seven Stars by Gu Long

    Welcome to my translation of Dragon King with Seven Stars by Gu Long. The story revolves around the mysterious disappearance and death of multiple figures in Jianghu, and contains a lot of foreshadowing, so pay attention to the details and see if you can figure out what is going on before the truth is revealed.

    Other translators rendered the title as Seven Star Dragon King, but after reading the whole book, I think my version is a bit more applicable. This is one of Gu Long's later works, and I really enjoyed it. For those of you who didn't like the ending of Kung Fu, I can tell ahead of time that this story is much more light-hearted, even more so than Heroes Shed No Tears, although it does have its fair share of the drama and heartbreak you might expect from a Gu Long story. A previous translator started working on it but didn't get past the first chapter. You can check that out here. Similar to Heroes Shed No Tears, I've started my own translation from scratch. Please do not hesitate to point out mistakes of any sort.

    This story actually has a connection to my first translation 7 Killers. If you haven't read that one you can find the unedited version on spcnet or the edited and updated version on wuxiaworld.com.

    The story is 100% translated as of 2015-05-02.

    Covers from various versions of the book:

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i61.tinypic.com/2ir9s02.jpg') $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i61.tinypic.com/6i5i1l.jpg') $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://i62.tinypic.com/2cqldmw.jpg')

    Table of Contents
    (Every chapter starts with a date. I'll include that as well for easy reference)

    Chapter 1 - The Death of a Multi-Millionaire (April 15)
    Part 1
    , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

    Chapter 2 - Ingot (April 16)
    Part 1, 2
    , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

    Chapter 3 - Flowered Flags (April 16, afternoon)
    Part 1, 2
    , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

    Chapter 4 - An Old Man Playing a Sanxian (April 16, night)
    Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5


    Chapter 5 - Silver Lightning (April 17, before dawn)
    Part 1, 2, 3


    Chapter 6 - Den of Immortals (April 17, morning)
    Part 1
    , 2, 3

    Chapter 7 - Wisp of Smoke (April 17, high noon)
    Part 1
    , 2, 3

    Chapter 8 - A Sword Which You Cannot Drop (April 17, before dusk)

    Chapter 9 - Wagering People Not Lives (April 17, night)
    Part 1, 2
    , 3, 4

    Chapter 10 - The First Star (April 17, night)
    Part 1
    , 2

    Chapter 11 - Ingot's Adventure (April 17, late night)
    Part 1, 2


    Chapter 12 - Ingot's Seven Stars (April 18, dusk)
    Part 1
    , 2, 3

    Chapter 13 - A Silent Funeral Song (April 18, night)
    Part 1,
    2, 3, 4

    Chapter 14 - A Silver Mask (April 18, deep night)
    Part 1, 2.1,
    2.2, 3

    Chapter 15 - A Dark Night on Lake Hu (April 19, before daybreak)
    Part 1, 2, 3


    Chapter 16 - Big Boss Tang's Adventure (April 19. Daybreak.)
    Part 1, 2, 3, 4


    Chapter 17 - Congratulations! (April 19)
    Part 1, 2, 3, 4


    Chapter 18 - A Red Flower in a White Head of Hair (April 19. Late Morning.)
    Part 1, 2, 3


    Chapter 19 - A Hand and a Foot (April 19. Afternoon)
    Part 1, 2,
    3, 4, 5

    Chapter 20 - The Second Star (April 19, before sunset)
    Part 1, 2, 3


    Chapter 21 - A Small Star, Glittering (April 19, before dusk)
    Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6


    Chapter 22 - A Story (April 19, night)
    Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6


    Chapter 23 - Applause (April 19, night)
    Part 1, 2, 3, 4


    Chapter 24 - Cause and Effect (April 19, before dawn)
    Part 1, 2


    Chapter 25 - The Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Stars (April 20, dawn.)
    Part 1, 2, 3
    Last edited by deathblade; 05-02-15 at 05:50 AM. Reason: i will continuously update this post with chapter links
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Chapter 1
    The Death of a Multi-Millionaire

    April 15. Clear Skies. [1]

    The day started like every other day. When Sun Jicheng got out of bed, his clothing was already prepared by Liu Jin’niang, a former Imperial maid responsible for dressing the Emperor, and the sixteen young women she oversaw. [2, 3] In the hall outside his bedroom, he drank some Oolong tea from the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian, and then got into his special carriage and began his inspection tour of the 79 businesses he owned in Jinan city. [4, 5]

    He was not the type of person who conformed to the normal patterns of everyday life. For example, he would often stay out drinking with clients all night. And yet, he would never let this interfere with his daily inspection. In fact, the route upon which he traveled would never change.

    Starting businesses wasn’t easy, and maintaining them successfully was even harder. Anyone who wanted to achieve such success must pay a price.

    Sun Jicheng understood that.

    He loved his businesses in much the same way that a beautiful woman loves her good looks.

    He would often tell his friends, “Wealth might not make you happy, but it’s a lot better than being poor.”

    Sun Jicheng was about six feet tall. Stalwart and dashing, he knew how to enjoy himself, much unlike the other wealthy and powerful merchants who were his peers.

    All the years of delicious food and drink had caused his belly to slowly protrude, but thanks to carefully tailored clothing, he looked much younger than his actual age. He could still race horses, drink liquor, and satisfy the most difficult to satisfy woman.

    He would never forget to remind others about this, and they would never forget this fact.

    Of course, a person like this had no death wish.

    So every day when he left home, various experts from famous bodyguard agencies would accompany him. One of them was Qiu Budao, also called “As Stable as Mount Tai,” who in past years had successfully accomplished 91 bodyguard missions with no losses.

    Sun Jicheng’s carriage was specially manufactured, impervious to blades and arrows. The horses came from the stables of the “General Who Attacks the West,” every one exceedingly fine, with unmatchable stamina and speed, capable of running over 400 miles in one day without stopping. [6, 7]

    His enormous mansion was similarly protected. Day and night, multiple shifts of guards watched over everything, each one a top-notch expert.

    To send someone like Sun Jicheng to the grave could not be considered a simple matter.

    No one would try to do such a thing. No one would dare take the risk.

    Who could ever imagine that he would die!

    **

    [1] Considering the story takes place in Ancient China, the months listed in the book would assumably be based on the Lunar calendar not the Gregorian calendar, but for sake of simplicity I will use the Gregorian calendar names.
    [2] Sun Jicheng’s Chinese name is 孙济城 sūn jì chéng.
    [3] Liu Jinniang’s Chinese name is 柳金娘 liǔ jīn niáng.
    [4] The tea from Wuyi mountains is relatively famous. I remember hearing about this when I used to live in Chinatown. http://tinyurl.com/24ebrvu
    [5] Jinan is the capital of Shandong province. It is a coastal city that has been an administrative and economic center for thousands of years. http://tinyurl.com/pf2akvf
    [6] “General Who Attacks the West” is actually one of the ranks achieved by historical General Huang Zhong, who worked for Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms Period. However, based on later information in the story, it would seem the story doesn't take place during that time period. http://tinyurl.com/ygg3s8t
    [7] What I’m translating as “over 400 miles” is written as 1,300 li in the original Chinese. http://tinyurl.com/pqwadtf
    Last edited by deathblade; 03-13-15 at 09:59 AM. Reason: changing Undroppable Qiu to Qiu Budao, fixed mistake found by WesY2K2, added footnote
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Thanks - always love a mystery, with kung fu thrown in...everytime I read them, it kinda brings back memories of Di Lung in "Sentimental Swordman" (like...who is the "Plum Blossom Bandit"?)
    How many chapters?
    Does this mean this is a very long novel?:
    As of the latest update, the story is .0005% complete
    Last edited by ycb5959; 03-12-15 at 02:20 AM.

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    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ycb5959 View Post
    Thanks - always love a mystery, with kung fu thrown in...everytime I read them, it kinda brings back memories of Di Lung in "Sentimental Swordman" (like...who is the "Plum Blossom Bandit"?)
    How many chapters?
    Does this mean this is a very long novel?:
    This novel is definitely full of mysteries, it's gonna be fun.

    It has a total of 25 chapters, and yeah I'll update that little number with each post so that it will be easy to see how much is left until the end.
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Thanks, deathblade.

    Looking forward to your new project. Fighting while unraveling mysteries will be a lot of fun.

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    thanks deathblade.

    It has been so long I have not inhaled the Wuxia air. Glad it's return. Hooray

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    A new translation! Thank you very much, Deathblade!

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    Great! Another Gulong. I am getting an overdose of xianxia, altho I enjoyed some of the novels posted. 7 Killers, Heroes Shed No Tears and this Dragon King, form part of the 7 Killers Series of which there are 8 novels in total.

    Thls deathblade.

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    Quote Originally Posted by LuDongBin View Post
    Great! Another Gulong. I am getting an overdose of xianxia, altho I enjoyed some of the novels posted. 7 Killers, Heroes Shed No Tears and this Dragon King, form part of the 7 Killers Series of which there are 8 novels in total.

    Thls deathblade.
    Is happy Hero part of the 7 Killer series? There are Dragon King mention inside.

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    Quote Originally Posted by theSwordoftheWest View Post
    Is happy Hero part of the 7 Killer series? There are Dragon King mention inside.
    No, Happy Hero is a stand alone novel. The other 4 novels are: 大人物, 碧血洗银枪, 剑·花·烟雨江南, 绝不低头, 猎鹰·赌局. Of these four, I think the first two have already been translated but I cannot be certain.

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    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LuDongBin View Post
    No, Happy Hero is a stand alone novel. The other 4 novels are: 大人物, 碧血洗银枪, 剑·花·烟雨江南, 绝不低头, 猎鹰·赌局. Of these four, I think the first two have already been translated but I cannot be certain.
    That's right it's not. However, in my research on Baidu a while back, I came to the understanding that the 7 Killers series itself was not actually compiled by Gu Long, but by rather publishers (perhaps after his death?) My hard copy of the book actually has 7 Killers and Dragon King with Seven Stars together, and it does have the 7 Killers series books listed in it. But in most of the online information about Gu Long on the internet, the books from the 7 Killers series are all placed into the "stand alone novels" category.

    Also, Heroes Shed No Tears and Dragon King with Seven Stars both mention Li Tanhua and Chu Liuxiang as being either dead or retired, so we know that both books exist in the same universe. So I think it's highly likely that Happy Hero does too. The Dragon King in Happy Hero, is he just mentioned in passing, or does he actually appear as a character? If I have the time maybe I'll check it out.
    Last edited by deathblade; 03-12-15 at 10:06 AM.
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Okay, either Gu Long made a mistake, or I did. Based on information from the passage I'm working on now, the story could not have taken place in the Three Kingdoms period. So, the "General Who Attacks the West" must be referring to some other figure, not Huang Zhong. I've adjust the text and footnotes accordingly already.

    I should be able to make a short update in a few minutes before calling it a night. Stay tuned.
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Huang Zhong of 3 Kingdoms - the only one I know is from Dynasty Warriors (5) in PS2
    [stupid character always do his power strikes and...trips]

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    Quote Originally Posted by ycb5959 View Post
    Huang Zhong of 3 Kingdoms - the only one I know is from Dynasty Warriors (5) in PS2
    [stupid character always do his power strikes and...trips]
    Pretty sure one in the same. Haha.
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    A short, maybe stupid question: does 7 stars have a cultural meaning? Maybe something like death stars? Not because of the sound like 4 but maybe of something else? (7x7 days of death?)

    Thanks.

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    Part 2

    Barring unforeseen circumstances, Sun Jicheng would usually eat lunch at at the Great Three Yuan restaurant.

    Perhaps because he worried about his growing belly, or because of constant drinking, he would usually eat or drink nothing else during the day other than his Oolong tea. So of course he was very picky about his lunch.

    There were many reasons why he chose to eat at Great Three Yuan.

    It was one of the 79 businesses he owned.

    Its head chef was a celebrity, specially hired from South China [1]. His “Marinated Shark’s Fin” and “Grilled Shark’s Fin” both were secret family recipes, handed down through the generations, and as luck would have it, Sun Jicheng’s favorite dish was Shark’s Fin.

    The manager of Great Three Yuan, Zheng Nanyuan, was not only picky about food, but when it came to wit and conversational ability, he was just the type of person Sun Jicheng liked.

    The most important thing was that Great Three Yuan was a very successful business with many customers. Sun Jicheng liked to look at people, and he liked people to look at him.

    ***

    Today was a day like any other. Big Boss Sun ate lunch at Great Three Yuan, drank a little alcohol.

    Usually he would drink Chu Ye Ching, Maotai, Daqu, Nu’er Hong, Mei Kuei Lu, and sometimes even Barley wine or Gucheng liquor shipped from distant regions. [2]

    Today, he drank something even more difficult to acquire: Persian Red Wine.

    Great Three Yuan was the last stop on his inspection tour. Upon finishing his meal, he would go home. He would return to his room, which others rarely visited, take a nap, then once again resume his unique living routine.

    — Being rich really was much more enjoyable than being poor.

    ***

    Sun Jicheng was richer than almost anyone in the world, and happier too.

    No one had any way to kill him, nor any reason to.

    How could he possibly die?

    **

    [1] What I’m translating as South China is literally referring to an area of South China covering Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan as well as modern northern Vietnam. http://tinyurl.com/no7apxt
    [2] These are all different types of alcohol, some of them very famous. Chu Ye Qing is a type of fenjiu or perhaps made from bamboo. I couldn’t find any articles about it. http://tinyurl.com/pbntk64. Maotai is probably the most famous baijiu in China. http://tinyurl.com/5l5z2e. Daqu is another type of baijiu http://tinyurl.com/ouasl23. Nu’er Hong is a type of baijiu, and if I remember correctly was mentioned in 7 Killers. http://tinyurl.com/ol8xjfv. Mei Kuei Lu is a type of rose-flavored baijiu http://tinyurl.com/mbyrfy9. The other two I was unable to find what exactly they are. Maybe Gu Long made them up, or maybe they are rare or obscure?
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Senior Member deathblade's Avatar
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    Sorry, it's a short update. As with my last two projects, I have a translation queue. Gu Long's stories often go back and forth between long and short sections of the story. So sometimes I translate a very short section, then post a long one, and sometimes vice versa. The next section is much longer, don't worry.

    @WesY2K, there's no cultural significance to the number 7 that I am aware of. 4, 8 and 9 definitely do, but not 7 that I'm aware of.
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Yeah, Chu Ye Qing (should be Zhu Ye Qing) is fenjiu made with bamboo. It also includes other herbs. You can still buy it, it's pretty common. Tastes kind of like cinnamon.

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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteskwirl View Post
    Yeah, Chu Ye Qing (should be Zhu Ye Qing) is fenjiu made with bamboo. It also includes other herbs. You can still buy it, it's pretty common. Tastes kind of like cinnamon.
    The reason I went with Chu Ye Qing is because that's how they have it on the label of their bottle. Not correct pinyin but I figured I might as well stick with what they picked. Similar to how on Maotai packages it's called Kweichow Maotai and not Guizhou Maotai...

    But the big question is, being not Chinese, do you actually like baijiu?
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Senior Member whiteskwirl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by deathblade View Post
    The reason I went with Chu Ye Qing is because that's how they have it on the label of their bottle. Not correct pinyin but I figured I might as well stick with what they picked. Similar to how on Maotai packages it's called Kweichow Maotai and not Guizhou Maotai...

    But the big question is, being not Chinese, do you actually like baijiu?
    I like Chu Ye Qing. Baijiu I'm not sure of, because I live in Taiwan, and though you can get Maotai, when it comes to hard liquor, almost everyone either drinks Gaoliang (高粱酒), which is made from sorghum, or whiskey, so I don't think I've had baijiu, unless gaoliang counts as a baijiu. But as for gaoliang, I don't care for it, but neither do I like whiskey. That said, I can accept it, if I'm playing a drinking game or something. But I don't drink either for pleasure. I live beer and wine.

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