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Thread: Delicate Hands Drive the Dragon - Sima Ling

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    Default Delicate Hands Control Dragons - Sima Ling

    Delicate Hands Control Dragons

    《纖手馭龍》

    by
    Sima Ling


    司馬翎

    Table of Contents
    Chapter 1: Rare Talents, Strange Behavior
    Chapter 2: Jianghu Practice and Experience | 1 | 2 | 3 |
    Chapter 3: The Flying Heaven Yaksha | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
    Chapter 4: The Five Poor Family Elders | 1 | 2 | 3 |


    NOTE: This novel was published by Taiwan wuxia writer Sima Ling in 1964. It is considered one of his masterpieces, which is one of the reasons I chose this one. Sima Ling is known for exploring the inner thoughts of his characters, and his female characters are more convincing than those of most authors. This novel in particular is supposed to have some interesting women. Sima Ling also pioneered the use of detective-style mysteries in wuxia. This is a standard-length wuxia novel, about four volumes, some 1 million characters. 56 chapters.
    Last edited by whiteskwirl; 10-23-16 at 06:32 AM.

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    Sima Ling Bio and Plot Synopsis Post - Will Update Later

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    Default Chapter 1: Rare Talents, Strange Behavior



    Chapter 1: Rare Talents, Strange Behavior



    The glow of the setting sun shone on the old path, the mountain breeze rustling, desolate and quiet.

    The old path was located in the hilly region of Huaiyang where there were few signs of habitation and every night the road was lonely with no one about.

    It was the time of the Yingzong reign during the Yuan dynasty, Mongol cavalry had for years swept across the Central Plains, and government officials were violent and money-mad, and all over the country traveling merchants as a result were less frequent.

    To the left of the old path behind the woods a faint corner of red wall showed.

    At that very moment a black-clothed monk appeared on the old path and directly entered the woods, and through and behind it to the front gates of a temple.

    But this temple was old and dilapidated, the doors shut up tight.

    The black-clothed monk raised a hand and knocked on the gates, the pounding of the door knocker breaking the pervading silence.

    Soon the gates opened, and there appeared a middle-aged monk wearing tattered rags. The black-clothed monk lowered his head and put his hands together in formal greeting, then with big strides entered.

    The middle-aged monk put his hand out to block the way. “Brother, please put up somewhere else for the night, here is no good!”

    The black-clothed monk slowly raised his head and the middle-aged monk was shocked! He saw the black-clothed monk’s haggard and emaciated face, his worried look, but his eyes twinkled like cold lightning.

    He added quickly, “It’s not that I regard you as an outsider, Brother, it’s actually because in recent years there has arisen in the area two fierce bandit gangs. They are scheduled to come here tonight to smear blood on the mouth to complete an alliance pact, outsiders are forbidden to enter!”

    The black-clothed monks eyes suddenly shined. “Inside is a vast area, this poor monk can hide away in any old place!”

    The monk sighed. “This temple only has one large hall still standing, Brother, it’s better for you to look for lodgings elsewhere!”

    The black-clothed monk shook his head and strolled inside, but the other monk blocked his way again and stamped his foot. “If you stay here and problems arise, don’t blame me!” And he shut the gates.

    The black-clothed monk walked into the sole remaining hall. There was nothing inside, just four empty walls, and aside from a few old Buddha figures in a niche shrine there was only an altar lamp hanging in the center of the hall. He shook his head and sat himself down cross-legged in the northeast facing the corner.

    After a little while the door knockers resounded again, the middle-aged monk went out to open the gates and saw a man eight foot tall, wearing plain clothes, very thin, standing at the entrance like an erect stalk of bamboo.

    The monk stared blankly and thought to himself, “How tall and thin he is!” The man’s face was thin and pointed, but otherwise had no special features. The monk was set at ease a bit, and said, “What can I do for you, benefactor?”

    The tall man said, “Nothing, I’ll just go in and sit down!” He strode forward and had already spanned five or six feet with one stride. His voice was like breaking bamboo, piercing and unpleasant.

    The monk quickly drew backward and blocked the way. “Benefactor, please find somewhere else to rest, this humble temple is no good!”

    The tall man stared naked violence. “Who says?”

    The monk shivered and didn’t dare talk back, but shut the gates in embarrassment. When he turned his head back the tall man had already entered the main hall.

    The monk stood behind the doors staring blankly, and suddenly heard the door knockers which startled him. He had just opened the gates when a leg darted in and pressed him to the side. He looked and saw this new visitor was a dirty, filthy Daoist with a face like a full moon, round and fat.

    The Daoist grinned and said, “You’ve been working hard!” He smacked his lips and went straight for the main hall, his worn-out slippers slapping on the ground.

    When the monk had recovered himself, the sound of the Daoist’s shoes has already faded, he had probably saw himself in the hall. Irritated, he shut the gates again, then stood unmoving. Soon, another knock at the gates. The monk pursed his lips in annoyance and paid no attention.

    The knockers sounded once, then were silent. The monk thought, “That one was easy to get rid of, he left on his own!” Then he reconsidered. “But who was it just then?” This thought drilled into his mind, he couldn’t hold back. “That person probably hasn’t gotten far, why not open the door and take a look?”

    He opened the gates and suddenly saw a person standing there, whole body pale like snow, it about scared him half to death, his heart nearly jumped out of his throat! The person’s clothes and shoes were all white, but his face was also unusually pale, without a trace of color. On his head he yet wore a white leather hat.

    This person need not speak, he already possessed a pressing frigidness as he entered. The monk shivered and dared not speak, but made a “come right in” gesture. The all-white person looked at him coldly, was silent and didn’t move.

    The monk trembled again and thought, “This person was just staring icily outside, even though separated by a door, but what wooden plan could keep out that icy gaze?” At this thought he trembled with cold.

    But his trembling had no effect, the white person like a pile of ice and snow still stared at him. The monk was forced to steel himself. “Benefactor, please come in!”

    The person let out a low grunt, its tone ice-cold like snow, then he stepped inside and entered the hall.

    The monk stared dumbly for a moment before gradually regaining his composure. This time he didn’t feel like closing the gates, but simply stood in the doorway.

    The sun had already set, dusk deepening. He didn’t see anyone else coming from any direction, and thought no one else was likely to show up. He exhaled loosely, then suddenly saw two people standing in front of him, he didn’t know where they had come from, they had not made a sound! The monk had been startled too many times now to be much affected by it though, so he wasn’t really startled.

    The tall one on the left, although dressed in Han clothes, yet his nose was tall and his eyes sunken, yellow hair and blue eyes, clearly not a Han person; the one on the right however was a young Han girl, extremely beautiful, her pretty eyebrows slightly knit, her glance yet nursing some grievance, possessing a delicate charming bearing.

    He looked at the big blue-eyed man, then at the pretty girl, and he was confused. Suddenly a huge palm grabbed at his chest and his two feet were lifted from the ground and like immortals plying the clouds and mist he was sent flying ten feet where he fell to the ground, fortunately landing softly. He was on his feet again in an instant.

    The blue-eyed man and the pretty girl strode into the main hall and sprinkled something on the ground.

    The hall at this time was dark, the altar lamp giving out a dusky dim yellow light, not bright enough to illuminate the four corners of the hall.

    The blue-eyed man looked around, suddenly raised a hand and with his ring finger flicked at the distant light, which jumped, then immediately shone brighter, yet the flame’s color had changed to a greenish hue, not like ordinary lamp light.

    He again looked around and saw people sitting in the four corners, but they all faced the wall, their heads hanging down.

    The blue-eyed man smiled faintly and sat cross-legged under the lamp. The girl sat beside him, her expression melancholy, as if she paid no heed to the four corners.

    In a little from the four corners there came the sound of breathing, as if the four people there suddenly had come to life and simultaneously began breathing. Then the four all sat up straight and turned to look at the center of the hall, all eyes focused on the close-eyed blue-eyed man sitting under the hanging lamp. Their gazes settled there for a time, then shifted to the young girl.

    The blue-eyed man suddenly opened his mouth. “If your stomach hurts, it’s because you’re poisoned!”

    The dirty Daoist in the southeast corner laughed, the sound sonorous, shaking the roof tiles.

    The Daoist’s laugh had just subsided when from the northeast corner the black-clothed monk let out a groan. The blue-eyed man looked and saw the monk had pulled a long face, his face sickly-looking. His bald pate inclined and struck the wall, as if a long illness ailed him and without any joy in life, wished to end it all with a crack to the skull!

    When the bald head smacked the wall there was a resounding “thump” and the entire hall swayed slightly.

    The blue-eyed man smiled at the force of it, but to himself he was surprised and thought to himself, “What a hard head! If he hits his head like that again this whole hall will come down! This monk’s skill is profound, not at all inferior to the Daoist’s!”

    The man tall like a bamboo stalk sat in the northwest corner. He extended his palm and slapped the ground in front of his knees three times. The blue-eyed man immediately felt the ground shake slightly, but when he looked at him, the bamboo stalk guy had already slowly retracted his palm.

    A bizarre sound suddenly rose from inside the hall, low, almost inaudible, but if you listened carefully, it was as if a cold wind screaming from a distant icy mountain and snowy valley.

    The blue-eyed man tracked the sound to the southwest corner where the pale-white man sat. The white man held his hands aloft, his posture exceedingly strange, and in a short while the temperature in the hall dropped suddenly, abnormally frigid.

    After the pale man dropped his arms, the bizarre sound ceased.

    The blue-eyed man was shocked. He thought, “All four of these people are experts each with his own consummate skill! Did they all gather together here tonight to deal with me?” As he was turning this over in his mind his gaze swept across the four people who all sat with heads drooped, silent, as if nothing had occurred. He thought, “No wonder my display of ‘ask the light to transmit poison’ had no effect. If I had known their internal strength was so profound, I would have used my most toxic concoction just now!”

    Not to be outdone, he copied the others in silence, drooping his head. After a bit, the pretty girl let out a faint groan. The blue-eyed man immediately took out several black melon seeds and gave them to her. The girl accepted these shelled them, ate them, and immediately stopped groaning. Then she took the shells and licked them. After doing so a dozen times, she then put the shells in a small silk bag.

    Outside the sky was already pitch-black. In the midst of the tranquility there came the sudden sound of fast hoofbeats, which grew closer and closer before finally stopping outside the temple. A loud, strong voice called out, “The gates are not shut, Brother Wang, please come in!”

    Another person responded, “Brother Xue, you first!” The two people modestly declined, and from listening it was clear these were the two leaders of the two bandit gangs. Their steps approached the hall doors, followed by the light of a flame.

    The main hall was suddenly lit up. Four people who entered first held torches. A couple twenty-somethings surged inside. One wore black, the other a dark blue. They first set eyes on the man and girl in the center of the hall and stopped, then noticed the four sitting in the corners.

    A group of people immediately charged in and made an uproar, but the two raised their hands and there was silence.

    The one wearing dark blue said, “The Black-Clad Gang and the Flying Tiger Gang Alliance, I don’t think the authorities know about it. What do you say Brother Wang?”

    The black-clad Brother Wang said, “Brother Xue, you’re right! There is only us Han people Under Heaven!”

    Brother Xue said, “It would have been better if they had all been barbarians, but these in the corners are all Han people come to deal with us, that’s most detestable!”

    Brother Wang agreed, “They forget integrity when tempted by gains, they should have their heads off!” These words were said with determination, the group of people took out their weapons. Once the command was given the entire hall would be thick with the light of swords and the glint of sabres.

    The Daoist in the southeast corner laughed. “Historically, of the famous mountains, and the famous swords, Kongdong is number one!” His voice rang clear and vast, again shaking the roof tiles.

    Wang and Xue exclaimed, “So you are Kongdong’s Li Bujing, Immortal Elder Li!”

    The dirty Daoist said, “What’s this “immortal elder” business, Dirty Priest is enough!” His speech was ordinary, he wore a smile, as if seeing everyone knew his name made him happy. He continued, “I, Li Bujing, am unmoved by fame and fortune, you all should know that!”

    Wang and Xue greeted him formally. “Elder Immortal Bujing’s name shakes the heavens, a renowned chivalrous personage of the martial fraternity, naturally everyone knows this!”

    The black-clothed monk in the northeast corner groaned. “The Hundred Schools and Thousand Clans all possess rare skills, but the source originally is Mt. Song!”

    Wang and Xue were surprised, and said, “So you are Shaolin’s Sick Monk!”

    When the monk had mentioned all the schools had skill but Mt. Song was the source, Wang and Xue instantly knew he was Shaolin Monastery’s famed “Sick Monk”.

    The tall bamboo-like man in the northwest corner let out his bamboo-cracking voice and everyone was startled. He said, “Dongting’s Xu Qingzhu is also uninterested in seeking glory!”

    Wang and Xue heard this and hurried to pay their respects. “Elder Xu is also an admired personage among the martial fraternity, we’ve long known your name!”

    Xu Qingzhu raised a finger and pointed at the white-clothed man in the southwest corner. “That is a Snow Mountain Sect expert, those people don’t speak much and rarely leave the mountain. We can assume he also does not curry favor with officials or seek wealth or rank!”

    The white-clothed man said, “I am Leng Rubing!”[1] He said only these four words to report his name, his manner and tone really cold like ice.

    The dirty Daoist Li Bujing laughed. “That’s a marvelous name!”

    Sick Monk said feebly, “Benefactor Leng is a rare master from Snow Mountain Sect, I have long heard of you! Tonight I’m fortunate to meet you, I have a lot of admiration for you!”

    The blue-eyed man knew from their talk that they had not come together, and didn’t even know each other. He was bewildered.

    Wang and Xue paid their respects to the four one by one, very respectful, then turned to the blue-eyed man in the center. Wang said, “Brother Xue, with these four experts here, this foreigner is going to find it hard to escape death, we need not get involved!”

    Xue said, “You’re right Brother Wang, we should go elsewhere so as not to disturb the four elders!” And they led their group outside the hall, and in a moment the sound of their retreating hoofbeats could be heard fading away in the distance.

    These words of Wang and Xue, of course everyone heard. The blue-eyed man’s face was dark, without any expression.

    With the gang’s torches gone, the hall resumed its former dimness, the six remaining were all silent, not a sound to be heard in the hall.

    After a while, the blue-eyed man apparently could not take it any longer, he opened his eyes and slowly surveyed the four masters of the martial fraternity. They all sat with eyes closed. He couldn’t guess what their plan was. His gaze fell on the pretty girl. She was hugging her knees, looking at the darkness outside the hall doors, as if she had no concern at all for what was happening around her.

    Suddenly the sound of steps outside and a person walked into the hall, his face round and his body fat, his appearance sincere and kind.

    When he saw the six people there he was a bit shocked, yet the blue-eyed man was more shocked, because the four in the corners suddenly stood up, every face fixed in concentration, all eyes on the fat man. It was clear at a glance that the four had been waiting for this last person to arrive, and there was absolutely no good will there.

    The fat man seemed to feel the situation was not favorable, his fat rolls trembled slightly, but he quickly put on a smile and turned to the blue-eyed man and the pretty girl and cupped his hand over his fist in greeting. “Hello!”

    The four saw him greet the two in the blue-eyed man and all were stunned. They all thought, “Could it be they had an appointment to meet him here?”

    The four all knew the man was a skilled martial artist, and an expert with poison, they regarded him not without some fear! So they were not about to act rashly. They sat down to wait and see what this was all about first.

    The fat man looked at the four, and thought aloud to himself, “Doesn’t feel quite right in here, I’d better have a rest outside!” Although he said that, he didn’t move.

    The tall man in the northwest corner laughed strangely. “I’ve long heard that the Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi put on a fake appearnce of sincerity, while his mind is full of tricks and schemes. Who would have thought seeing is not as good as hearing, he he!” The final two laughs were brimming with scorn.

    Li Bujing said, “Brother Xu said what I was thinking, if he didn’t show his true feelings and expose his flaw, he still could have misled us for a while!”


    Shaolin Sick Monk said, “Shang Gongzhi, if you want to escape here tonight, you have to kill this poor monk first!”

    Leng Rubing said, “That goes for me too!” The others all chimed in likewise.

    The blue-eyed man saw the man’s appearance was sincere and honest, especially his name, “Shang Gongzhi”, which sounded upright, who would have thought his nickname was “Southern Traitor”. He found himself quite interested, and he stared at the man, sizing him up.

    The fat man just then happened to look at him and their eyes met, the fat man said, “Do you feel something is strange, brother? What is your name?”

    The blue-eyed man nodded, but did not say his name.

    The fat man said, “You have not heard of Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi, or Northern Evil?”

    The man shook his head. The fat man pointed at his own nose and said, “I am Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi!”

    The man thought, “you still need to say it?”

    The fat man continued, “FOr ten years or so I, Shang Gongzhi, have run roughshod over the earth, specializing in sowing dissension, being treacherous, cheating, all among the martial fraternity get a headache and a start when they hear my name, so that’s why I’m called ‘Southern Traitor’!”

    The man nodded, showing he understood, and Shang Gongzhi continued. “But ‘Southern Traitor’, this nickname, how can people say it openly? These four dear friends look down on me, but that is a very serious mistake!”

    Xu Qingzhu couldn’t hold back any longer. “Where were we wrong?”

    Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi said, “You all saw me greet this man here and you all thought we had some arrangement to meet, so you waited, then heard me talk to myself and firmly believed I wanted to escape!” He saw that no one was going to contradict him, so he said, “Actually, I was using your reaction to ferret out this brother’s status and background!”

    Kongdong Li Bujing was dubious. He said, “Now do you know his status and background?”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “Naturally! First, I found that because he possess some rare skills, you all had some misgivings and did not attack just yet. Second, the lamplight is green and smells funny, so it’s clear he’s good at using poisons. Third, he hasn’t been to the Central Plains in some twenty years, but he speaks Chinese well, so I can tell twenty years ago he was here!”

    The blue-eyed man couldn’t hold his tongue. “How do you know it’s twenty years?”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “I came on the scene sixteen or seventeen years ago and immediately shook the heavens, no one didn’t know me. But you had never heard of me, so that proves it, let alone, isn’t there also some living proof?” He pointed at the pretty girl.

    Everyone in the hall was visibly shaken, including the blue-eyed man. But the pretty girl seemed not to have heard, as she continued to look out the door with a pensive expression.

    Shang Gongzhi said, “She’s about twenty, and is a Han girl, and although her clothes strived to look Han, there are some some big discrepancies, plus she doesn’t speak Chinese, so I can tell this is the first time she’s stepped foot in the Central Plains!”

    Everyone suddenly saw he was right and they all admired his precise thinking and sharp eyes.

    The girl still looked blankly out the door, one look and you would know she really didn’t speak Chinese, and so had no reaction.

    Shang Gongzhi continued, “Since Brother is a foreign master, excelling in the use of poisons, and has not been in the Central Plains for twenty years, these are great guesses!”

    Sick Monk said, “Could it be you are the one who made a ruckus eighteen years ago, then was frustrated and returned, the Colored-Eye Master, Flying Heaven Yaksha Bo Le?” During the Yuan dynasty, Western ethnic groups were called “Colored Eyes” because they had different colored eyes not commonly seen.

    The blue-eyed man said, “Sick Monk, how did you say I returned.” Although he spoke Chinese well, he hadn’t heard the word used for “frustrated”.

    Shang Gongzhi said, “He means you were defeated by someone and ran off!”

    Flying Heaven Yaksha Bo Le humphed, “Oh, okay!”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “This person is Shaolin’s renowned Sick Monk, you shouldn’t dispute him!” Although everyone knew the Southern Traitor liked to sow discord and play tricks, yet they also were not about to be made inferior or look weak.

    Flying Heaven Yaksha Bo Le, seeing the man’s face looked sincere like he really had good intentions, he got mad. “What’s Shaolin Monastery? When I first set foot in the Central Plains eighteen years ago, every school and every clan submitted to my poison skills!” These words also wounded Li Bujing, Xu Qingzhu, and Leng Rubing.

    Shang Gongzhi was pleased with himself, and thought, “First get you all to fight this foreigner, then you’ll know Southern Traitor’s method!” Then, lest the fire should wane, he said, “Bo Le’s skill is naturally sufficient to overpower each school in the Central Plains’ martial fraternity. Is this girl your disciple? When did she become your apprentice? Did her parents both agree?” Could he not see that the girl was not Bo Le’s student? Saying it this way, naturally there was an ulterior motive.

    Bo Le said, “She’s not my disciple, when I went back eighteen years ago, I easily took her with me!”

    Shang Gongzhi quickly added, “At that time she was still in swaddling clothes, now I fear she has never known her natural parents!”

    Bo Le said, “That’s right!” These words instantly roused the others’ sense feeling of fighting against a common enemy, they all thought of how a foreigner took away a Han girl, how could that be a good thing?

    Bo Le continued, “This time I came to the Central Plains to take her to see the King of Remedies Liang Kang. Maybe you know where Liang Kang lives?”

    Shang Gongzhi promptly shook his head, thought, “Even if I knew I wouldn’t tell you!”

    Xu Qingzhu said, “Why do you want to find him? You need him to heal the girl?”

    Bo Le smiled darkly. “Exactly!”

    Xu Qingzhu shook his head. “Although I know where King of Remedies Liang Kang lives, telling you would be of no use, he’s already pledged never to cure anyone of an illness again!”

    When they all heard Bo Le had taken this girl so far to see medical attention, half of their hostility immediately dissipated. Sick Monk said, “What is the girl’s ailment?” His tone had the feeling of wanting to help.

    Shang Gongzhi was worried the situation was changing and quickly looked for a way out. Suddenly Leng Rubing’s voice entered his ears. “Shang, do you want to get away?” Snow Mountain Sect’s master Leng Rubing had been watching him closely and had seen through his heart.

    Just then the girl suddenly groaned, attracting everyone’s attention. Flying Heaven Yaksha Bo Le took out a few black melon seeds and the girl ate them, and her groaning quickly stopped.

    Everyone saw there was something mysterious in this, only Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi realized something was odd, and his brain started working, then it hit him and he said, unable to contain his joy, “If my flaws had not been spotted, I, Southern Traitor, this famed personage, would have been smashed tonight!” He opened a bag and took out a pearl and put it in his mouth. “Brother Bo Le, those melon seeds, how many people on earth would dare eat them?”

    Flying Heaven Yaksha said proudly, “Aside from me and her, it would be hard to find a third!”

    Shang Gongzhi acted like he couldn’t believe it. “Even if it’s an extreme poison, there’s not necessarily no third person who could eat them!”

    Bo Le said, “I’ve studied poisons since I was young, that goes without saying. This girl since she was young has consumed a thousand different poisons, her constitution is not like ordinary people, that’s the only reason she can withstand the strange poison of these Five Flavor melon seeds!”

    Li Bujing, Xu Qingzhu, and the rest all knew Shang Gongzhi was the craftiest, most treacherous personage the martial fraternity had seen in a hundred years, so they knew he would never speak carelessly, there must be some deeper meaning behind it, so they all kept silent.

    Shang Gongzhi said, “Salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy are the five flavors, these melon seeds contain them all, they must be really tasty!My knowledge is vast, but I’ve never heard of five flavors altogether being a poison!”

    Bo Le said, “I have salty poisons, sweet poisons, sour poisons, bitter poisons, and spicy poisons which I cooked up with these melon seeds. If you don’t believe me then just give it a taste…”

    Shang Gongzhi waved his hand. “No, no, you are a master at your art, how can your words be false!”

    Bo Le had always considered himself a master, so hearing those words pleased him. He nodded. “That’s right!”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “This girl ate several melon seeds and was fine! What if you don’t give her the seeds?”

    Bo Le hesitated, then said, “Within a period of two hours she would breathe her last breath!” He hadn’t wanted to reveal this secret but he thought he was a master, so he ought to tell the truth.

    Shang Gongzhi said, “I get it, the girl’s body is different from the average person, she must take poisons often in order to preserve her life, am I right?”

    Bo Le said, “That’s it exactly.”

    Li Bujing and the others heard this and all showed slighly angry expressions. Shang Gongzhi continued, “Brother Bo Le, you’re wanting to take her to see the King of Remedies Liang Kang, naturally is so you can get him to dispel the poisons in her body. But, do you think the King of Remedies has magical powers?”

    Bo Le sneered. “I already know your scheme, but I’m not afraid! That’s right, the King of Remedies Liang Kang definitely cannot dispel the poisons!”

    Shang Gongzhi suddenly backed away sixteen or seventeen steps. “Ai, fortunately I have in my mouth a Warding Off Poison Pearl…” Had Bo Le used poison against him? Li Bujing, Xu Qingzhu and the others thought so, as they all protected themselves and came out from the corners.

    Sick Monk said, “Amituofo, Benefactor Bo Le, using a life to pit your skills against the King of Remedies is really a violation of Heaven’s morals!”

    Li Bujing said, “How can this dirty Daoist look on unconcerned!”

    Xu Qingzhu said, “With all of us here, how can we let this Poison Devil rampage over the Central Plains!” His voice was like broken bamboo, piercing the ear, and also unpleasant to hear.

    The four closed in on Bo Le and stopped about ten feet away, surrounding him. Shang Gongzhi took this opportunity to sneak out of the hall, and no one noticed.

    Flying Heaven Yaksha Bo Le said some words in a foreign tongue, and of course the others didn’t understand it. But the girl stood up and slowly cleared off. The others feared she didn’t know the reason for this deadly fight, and might fire out some poison in place of Bo Le from the dark, so they all kept a close watch over her movements.

    Bo Le still sat on the floor. “I told her to get away so she didn’t get in the way of our fight, you don’t need to be suspicious!”

    Could they believe that? They still kept a close eye on her, until she passed between Leng Rubing and Sick Monk and had gone twenty or thirty feet beyond them, then they felt better.

    Only then did they notice that Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi had fled. Xu Qingzhu cursed, “That son of a ***** seized the moment and ran off!”

    Sick Monk said, “That man really deserves his reputation!”

    Flying Heaven Yaksha Bo Le said, “You all listen, anyone who comes within five steps, I will immediately make him feel the effects of my poison and will die!”

    Some of them humohed, some cursed under their breaths that it was nonsense, and they all moved up four steps, only about six steps away from Bo Le, but none of them were willing to take a risk, so they stopped and looked at the ground.

    Xu Qingzhu extended his long arm, chopped down with his palm, power gushing out, and Sick Monk who was across from him and was afraid that palm carried poison with it, so he raised his sleeve and whisked out an invisible wave of force. Li Bujing and Leng Rubing also thought this method was good, and they followed suit, striking the area separating them from their enemy.

    The four waves of power were hard and soft, Snow Mountain Sect master Leng Rubing’s palm strike contained a frigid cold energy, and they all struck out at the still-seated Bo Le. Bo Le used his skill to protect himself and the waves passed through and his body only lightly shook.

    The others were a bit surprised. Xu Qingzhu said, “Great skill. With this level of ability, there’s no need to use poison!” If it had only been one or teo of them who had struck out, Bo Le’s withstanding it would have been no special feat. But four of them all striking at once, some with hard force, some with soft, withstanding it was very difficult, so it was clear that Bo Le’s martial arts was superb.

    Bo Le’s confidence was stunned as well. He thought, “In these past eighteen years a lot of great masters have emerged in the Central Plains. If I only relied on my martial arts, it would be hard to beat them!” But he just sneered and said nothing.

    The two sides faced each other for a moment, then Xu Qingzhu said, “Let’s go!” The other three assented and each began his attack.

    Suddenly a laugh echoed through the hall, it was Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi. He said, “If you really attack, it would be a gross error!”

    When they heard him speak they all stopped short. Who wouldn’t be surprised to hear this and turn to look. They all thought, “This guy being brazen enough to fall into the trap is already strange, but those words are even more mysterious!”

    Li Bujing laughed. “Why do you say that?”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “If you kill Brother Bo Le, won’t it be hard for that girl to continue living? That really is a matter of hurting the one you love!”

    Sick Monk said, “Amituofo, that makes a lot of sense!”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “Also, the King of Remedies Liang Kang’s pledge, no matter who takes the girl to get cured, it would be no use. Only Brother Bo Le he won’t refuse!”

    The others didn’t say anything, but Bo Le said, “Why is that?”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “If he saves someone he would violate his pledge, but if you call on him, that’s only a test of skill, cant count that as saving someone, so of course it wouldn’t violate his pledge!”

    Bo Le was happy. “That’s great! Where does he live?”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “Only he knows!” He pointed at Xu Qingzhu.

    Xu QIngzhu said, “I’ll have to think about whether or not I can say.”

    Leng Rubing suddenly said, “This time you won’t get away!” He jumped up and blocked Shang Gongzhi’s escape route. Sick Monk and the others all surrounded him as well.

    Bo Le said, “I’ll step aside for the moment!” He stood up and moved off to the side.

    They saw him voluntarily give way and they simultaneously moved in on Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi. All their expressions were severe, obviously concentrating their strength, when they let it out it would definitely be fierce and difficult to block.

    Shang Gongzhi took a letter out of his pocket and said, “Will you let me say somthing?” They all stopped and waited to see what was coming next.

    Shang Gongzhi transferred the letter to his left hand and with his right took out a short sword about half a foot long, shook off the scabbard, and light shot out, cold and eerie. One look and you would know this was a rare weapon.

    Xu Qingzhu said, “If you have something to say, say it, if you have gas, fart it out!”

    Bo Le, standing by the wall, said, “This guy’s stalling for time, preparing himself!”

    Leng Rubing nodded. “That makes sense!”

    Shang Gongzhi was unhappy. He thought, “If I must use such slight skills, how could I have come to be known as ‘Southern Traitor’? These two guys blow and cry, and that Xu Qingzhu’s voice is really hard to listen to, just wait until I get you to kill each other, then you’ll know my strategy!”

    Though his mind was contemplating murder, his face betrayed no expression, he said slowly, “I, Traitor Shang, just want to ask you four a question, which is: how did you four know I would pass by here tonight?”

    When no one answered, Shang Gongzhi continued, “Naturally, you all would have no way to know that I would be passing through here on this dark night! Looks like one can’t avoid his enemies and we just happened to meet here by chance, right?”

    The four still didn’t answer, which surprised Shang Gongzhi. He thought, “If it was really an accidental meeting, why wouldn’t they admit it? In other words, they especially came here to wait for me! That’s odd, how can they know what I didn’t even know, how can that be?”

    Sick Monk suddenly said, “Tell me where Elder Lingyuan’s body is located, and I’ll tell you something!”

    Shang Gongzhi immediately gave the location and the mark indicating the spot where the corpse was buried. After hearing this, Sick Monk put his palms together and said, “If your memory is correct, let me go and recover Elder Lingyuan’s remains! But this matter is far from settled!”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “I understand.”

    Sick Monk said, “I was guided here, coming this place to wait for you was no coincidence!”

    Shang Gongzhi couldn’t help frowning thought about his recent encounters but could think of nothing. If a person guided Sick Monk here, he should have seen him on the road. Considering his travel speed, there were two things he didn’t get: first, he didn’t need to pass through here, he had just happened to turn this way as it was getting dark; second, he had put up at inns for the past two days, only tonight he suddenly changed his mind. So even though he was super intelligent, he couldn’t think of how they had known. He couldn’t help racking his brains.

    Xu Qingzhu said, “Hey, let’s get to fighting!”

    Shang Gongzhi was too vexed. “Wait a minute!”

    Li Bujing laughed. “I advise you to get ready for the fight! Even if you smash your skull in you won’t think of the rationale!”

    Shang Gongzhi heard this and felt more curious, and his vexation instantly vanished. “This mystery is very interesting, I’ll figure it out sooner or later…”

    Xu Qingzhu saw him regain his composure, and he yelled, “When you think of the answer, you’ll only be able to tell King Yama…” He strode forward and drew out an emerald-green bamboo staff and attacked. Shang Gongzhi brandished his sword, but the bamboo staff changed its sweep, and Shang Gongzhi raised his left hand, and a white light shot out toward Sick Monk while his right hand used the sword to block the staff.

    Xu Qingzhu feared the sharp sword would damage his bamboo staff, so he changed up and swept out at the legs.

    Shang Gongzhi dodged, his movements extremely quick and slippery, and he snuck in at the enemy, drawing the sword in a counterattack, and they exchanged several blows in the blink of an eye, but most of Shang Gongzhi’s strikes were feints.

    Li Bujing shook his head. “This guy’s martial arts is also deceptive…” Just as he said this, a letter flew before him.

    Li Bujing read it quickly, and was alarmed. “How can this strange thing be?”

    Shang Gongzhi knew they had a mind to kill him, and because their martial arts was so good, he would have to use all his energy to fight back, there would be no time for talk, so he had used this plan of throwing the letter at Sick Monk.

    Just then Leng Rubing stepped out of the fight and Li Bujing handed him the letter, which he read. Then Leng Rubing yelled, “Brother Xu, hold on a minute…”

    Xu Qingzhu jumped out of the fight circle and Leng Rubing handed him the letter to read. He saw Leng Rubing’s odd expression and he knew there must be some good reason, so he quickly read the letter. Suddenly, he felt someone sidle up next to him, he cast a sidelong glance and saw that it was the pretty girl.

    Yet the girl’s face was full of curiosity, Xu Qingzhu thought, but she doesn’t know Chinese, so letting her read it is no problem, so he didn’t push her away. Looking at the letter, he first noticed the signature at the bottom, which was two fingers, and he was stunned! Then he saw the first words written were: “Brother Zhao Yunpo you”, and he was stunned again!

    Sick Monk said, “Benefactor Shang had this letter as proof, no wonder he dared go and return!”

    Leng Rubing interjected, “Yes, let him go tonight, his days are numbered anyway!”

    That Colored-Eye master off to the side, Bo Le, although he heard everything clearly, he was still confused, and couldn’t help but say, “What did you say?”

    Sick Monk said, “We decided to let him go tonight, we’re just waiting for Brother Xu’s opinion.”

    Xu Qingzhu agreed, “Elder Li Xingqiao’s signature, I’ve seen that many times before, it’s definitely the real deal! Now, since he and Elder Zhao Yunpo have appeared, of course I’ll yield!”

    Bo Le heard the names Li Xingqiao and Zhao Yunpo and he went cold, his complexion changed, and he thought to himself, “Those two guys aren’t dead yet?” He paid close attention now to what they were saying.

    Xu Qingzhu said with his cracking voice, “Elder Zhao has a stern disposition, always exterminating evils. Shang Gongzhi your evil trace is clear, this time if it falls in Elder Zhao’s hands, don’t plan on returning alive!”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “Brother Xu’s words have merit, but according to what Li Xingqiao said, Zhao Yunpo has left home, shaved his head and become a monk. So I maybe can rest easy in the world! Ha ha…”

    Leng Rubing said, “Wherever you try to hide, you won’t be able to escape us!”

    Xu QIngzhu said, “That’s right, even though Elder Li will not take your life, we still have the ability to find you!”

    Li Bujing said slowly, “I’ve thought carefully about this, but there’s one thing I don’t get.”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “Say it.”

    LI Bujing said, “I’m not trying to insult anyone, but really with your ‘treacherous’ name, how can Elder Li put his trust in you?”

    Sick Monk interjected, “Priest Li is right, Benefactor Li only wrote a letter speaking of your recent evil-doings, and asking for some consideration, and sentencing you to a crime. But Benefactor Li didn’t use his peerless ‘Heavenly Design Finger’, that’s suspect.”

    Bo Le had a general idea of what they were talking about now. He thought, “Li Xingqiao not only didn’t die from poison, he also was able to capture Shang Gongzhi! The moves Shang Gongzhi used just now were incredible, if one of the four met him alone they wouldn’t be able to succeed, so it’s clear that Li Xingqiao’s martial arts has not decreased, I’ll have to move about in secret from now on. As soon as I see the King of Remedies Liang Kand I’ll quickly go back to the Western Regions…”

    Shang Gongzhi saw everyone was turning suspicious, so he would have to clkose it quick. He said, “Everyone, listen carefully, Li Xingqiao’s reason for trusting me is because he made me take a vow before a command tally.”

    Leng Rubing humphed, Xu Qingzhu shook his head, all showed their disbelief.

    Sick Monk said, “What tally? Whose?”

    Shang Gongzhi slowly looked at the ground and saw his shadow. He said, “It was hers!”

    Xu Qingzhu said, “There’s nothing on the ground, stop horsing around!”

    Shang Gongzhi sneered, his body swayed, and his shadow followed suit. He said, “Did you see it? What was that?”

    Li Bujing said, “It’s a shadow!” When he said this, everyone’s expression changed and they were immediately quiet.

    Bo Le frowned. “What shadow?”

    Leng Rubing said, “Don’t speak!” His voice was callous, stiff in manner.

    Bo Le was angry. “If I want to speak, I’ll…”

    Sick Monk broke in, “Stop bickering you two…” Outside the hall there suddenly came the sound of footsteps, and everyone inside, including Shang Gongzhi wore a shocked face.

    Bo Le knew the five were all masters within the martial fraternity, but to look this scared, this so-called shadow person must really be terrible! But he didn’t dare say anything, but quietly readied himself and stared at the hall doors.

    A human shadow charged inside, but it was youth dressed up as a servant, his hair messy, panting non-stop. They all couldn’t help but laugh, and they all relaxed with a sigh.

    Li Bujing went over and clapped the boys’s acupoint and the boy stopped being short of breath.

    Xu Qingzhu said, “Who are you looking for, kid?”

    The servant boy said slowly, I’m a subordinate of the Flying Tiger Gang, they all fell to the ground and sent me to come report…”

    No one understood, but under further questioning they learned that after the two gangs had left, they had traveled twenty li or so, when suddenly they all dropped to the ground, some with headaches, others with stomachaches, they were all now on the brink of death! Only the boy was unaffected so he had been sent to get help.

    The experts there all knew, they turned to glare at Bo Le. Xu Qingzhu was the first to speak. “What’s the meaning of this?”

    Bo Le said indifferently, “They were really disrespectful to me and deserved punishment.”

    Shaolin Sick Monk, Kongdong Priest Li Bujing, Xu Qingzhu, and Leng Rubing all converged on Bo Le.

    Sick Monk said, “That’s not like the normal revenge killings you see among the rivers and lakes, I can’t ignore it.”

    The other three all said, “We also must do something about it!” They all four started in on the attack together.

    Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi shouted from behind, “Count me in too!” Bo Le heard this and was shocked, he couldn’t see how this roused so much indignation?

    The Yuan dynasty had come to power some forty years ago, but in the south the still in chaos, with heroes leading people springing up out of the marshes all over the place, so these masters of the martial fraternity could not sit idly by while these two gangs suffered. Bo Le had studied martial arts and poisons all his life, how could he keep uo with historic trends?

    Seeing them all ganging up on him he went timid and blinked his blue eyes. “Have they died yet?”

    Shang Gongzhi, the crafty fellow, heard this and knew Bo Le was afraid and looking to compromise, so he thought to take this chance to plant enmity and bury revenge, why wait? He called out, “You’re trying to use the antidote to blackmail us for the King of Remedies’ address!”

    This alerted Bo Le, he said, “Brother Xu, tell me the King of Remedies’ location and I will give you the antidote so those people won’t die.”

    Xu Qingzhu looked torn, so Shang Gongzhi immediately said, “Brother Xu if you give out the King of Remedies’ address, be prepared for him to get you back!” His words appeared to be innocent, but deep down there was intention there.

    Bo Le heard this and sneered. “So Brother Xu is afraid of him seeking revenge!”

    Xu Qingzhu said, “For those twenty or so people and that girl’s life, I have no choice but to tell you the King of Remedies Liang Kang’s address!” He immediately said the location and how to get there, then he backed away to the side and inwardly calculated how to follow Bo Le and wait until he met the King of Remedies Liang Kang, then settle the score with him.

    Bo Le took out the antidote and gave it to the servant boy. They all waited in the hall for the boy to return. Shang Gongzhi thought, this time it should be Leng Rubing’s turn. His eyebrows shot up and he had his plan.

    He laughed and went in front of Leng Rubing, said, “I’ve heard when Snow Mountain Sect’s ‘Snow Soul Skill’ is used, it can make man and beast both freeze stiff and die, but I don’t quite believe it.”

    Leng Rubing said, “So what if you don’t believe it?”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “I’d like to test it out!”

    Leng Rubing said, “All right!” He slowly raised both his arms and let out a strange sound, like it was there yet wasn’t, but if you listened closely, it was like a cold wind whistling off the icy mountains and snow valley. The hall turned cold and everyone was interested.

    Suddenly Shang Gongzhi said, “Who has the guts to stand next to me?”

    Bo Le said, “I will!” He went over and stood to his left. This Bo Le was a Colored-Eye Master, had always lived in the Western Regions, he didn’t really understand the customs and rules of the martial fraternity of the Central Plains, he thought to himself that the cold didn’t bother him, only heat, so he went over to try it out.

    Sick Monk and the others didn’t go out, but Bo Le’s action, they couldn’t keep quiet about it, and Xu Qingzhu said, “Brother Leng’s skill us really superb among the martial fraternity, how can I pass up this opportunity, I should go too!”

    Li Bujing said, “I’ll risk a little bit of suffering, I’ll go too!”

    Sick Monk said, “Since everyone is so enthusiastic about it, I’ll follow behind you…” The five all lined up facing Leng Rubing.

    Leng Rubing, arms raised, his voice gradually raised. Cold air slammed into them, first Xu Qingzhu, Sick Monk, and Li Bujing felt a severe, cruel cold, hard to endure, their blood seemingly like it was about to freeze solid, the were secretly shocked! They stored up their energy using their individual methods to withstand the blast of cold air. Then it was the Colored-Eye Master Bo Le. He studied martial arts and poison and was not afraid of the cold, yet he felt it difficult to endure as well, so he hurried to store up his energy, and in the midst of the cruel cold he heard teeth chattering. Shang Gongzhi laughed. “You all are so afraid of the cold, so strange! Brother Leng, how much of your force are you using?”

    Leng Rubing humphed, but did not answer. Shang Gongzhi was smiling like normal, not only did he not look uncomfortable from the cold, but he hadn’t even stored up his energy, they were all perplexed.

    After a while they were all too cold for comfort, and Leng Rubing had been expending his energy for too long, if he kept it up he would damage his vital energy. He heard Shang Gongzhi laughing, who would be able to stand it! Just then, footsteps approached from the distance, and then three people entered the hall.

    They all three at almost the same time said, “So cold!” They hurriedly went back outside. Hearing the voices of the two bandit chiefs, Leng Rubing let his arms drop and ceased his strange sounds. The cold air dissipated and they all took a deep breath and ceased their energy circulation.

    Leng Rubing said, “Brother Shang’s skill is very profound!” His tone suggested he wanted to challenge him again.

    Shang Gongzhi said, “It had nothing to do with my skill…”

    The two from outside came back in, greeteed everyone, and then left.

    Shang Gongzhi waited until the two bandit chiefs were far away, then said, “On the dozen or so years I’ve been roaming the rivers and lakes, I’ve obtained quite a few rare treasures, among them a treasure that can ward off the cold, you just saw its effectiveness! Brother Leng is a master of the Snow Mountain Sect, so he definitely knows the name of this treasure!”

    Leng Rubing stared. “Could it be the Sun Jade Talisman?”

    Shang Gongzhi said, “Correct, Brother Leng is worthy of being called a master of Snow Mountain Sect!”

    Leng Rubing’s eyes flashed greed, because this talisman for warding off the cold, when used by ordinary people was effective as just demonstrated, but in the hands of a disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect, the talisman could increase their skill, so even a rare talent like Leng Rubing was still greedy for it to the point of wanting to snatch it.

    Southern Traitor Shang Gongzhi, lest he not be moved, saw that the time was ripe, glanced and said, “Ai, that girl is so cold she can’t stop shaking, and my life is in deadly peril, I should hand the talisman over for her to wear!” He went over and gave her the jade tally. The pretty girl was really shaking uncontrollably, but with the tally in her hands she immediately recovered her normal condition, and her face showed a mixture of surprise and elation. She said something in her foreign tongue.

    Shang Gongzhi said, “Brother Bo Le, tell her I’m giving it to her!”

    Bo Le said something in his native language, and the girl responded with a few words. Bo Le said, “She says thank you, and that you are really a good person!”

    Xu Qingzhu shook his head. “Heaven knows if he is or isn’t a good person!” Then he paid his respects to Sick Monk and the others and took his leave with big strides and exited the hall. Sick Monk, Li Bujing, and Leng Rubing also bid farewell and left.

    Only Shang Gongzhi, Bo Le and the pretty girl were left. Shang Gongzhi said, “Brother Bo Le, what did you just now say to the girl.”

    Bo Le smiled inwardly, and thought to himself, “Don’t think you’re getting your treasure back.” He said, “I said you were giving her the jade talisman because you were going to die soon.”

    Shang Gongzhi muttered, “Did she not ask why I was about to die?”

    Bo Le shook his head. Shang Gongzhi suddenly smiled and said to himself, “I get it, I get it.”

    Bo Le was afraid of a trap, and didn’t ask him, but he had secretly laid out his poison technique, Shang Gongzhi need only come two steps closer and he would be poisoned and would die.

    But Shang Gongzhi didn’t step forward, but put his fist in his palm in greeting and said, “I have to go, we’ll meet again some day!” Bo Le in his surprise forgot to return the greeting.


    END CHAPTER 1


    _________
    [1] His name literally means “cold as ice” 冷如冰
    Last edited by whiteskwirl; 08-19-16 at 06:46 AM.

  4. #4
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    thank you for the chapter.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jirachier View Post
    thank you for the chapter.
    You're welcome. Hope it turns out to be good. I think it's a good start so far.

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    It seems really interesting, but really scared the *bleep* out of me when I looked at its length...

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    I have read this

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    Thanks, i like this story, more please

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    I'm curious about your method. Do you machine translate, then edit? Or do you directly translate by hand?
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Arghhh, Am I missing somethngs.

    But thank you for translating another amazing story.

  11. #11
    Senior Member whiteskwirl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by deathblade View Post
    I'm curious about your method. Do you machine translate, then edit? Or do you directly translate by hand?
    No, I don't machine translate. Are you trying to say the quality is bad? No, I have two windows open on my computer, one is Wenlin software, which is a Chinese dictionary program where you can write or paste in text and then mouseover for definitions. The other window is my word processor where I write the translation. So I read a passage and then translate it. If there's a word I don't understand I just mouseover it in Wenlin to see the definition (I paste the chapter in Wenlin first and read off that).

    That's part of the reason my Peerless Sword translation is so much slower than what I can do here, because that novel is not available online. I just have to look at the book and translate, which is a lot slower because it takes longer to look up stuff I don't know.

    I just spent a lot of time that I really should have used for other things to get this first chapter out. I had not intended to translate the whole chapter at once, but one thing led to another.




    Quote Originally Posted by theSwordoftheWest View Post
    Arghhh, Am I missing somethngs.

    But thank you for translating another amazing story.

    What do you think you might be missing?

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by lalolalo9 View Post
    It seems really interesting, but really scared the *bleep* out of me when I looked at its length...
    Yeah, normally I wouldn't even be able to post the whole chapter at once, but since I had it all ready, why wait? The next update will be longer in coming, so I thought it would be good to give a whole chapter so people can right from the beginning have a good idea about the story and where it's going. The more there is to read, the easier it is to get interested in it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteskwirl View Post
    No, I don't machine translate. Are you trying to say the quality is bad? No, I have two windows open on my computer, one is Wenlin software, which is a Chinese dictionary program where you can write or paste in text and then mouseover for definitions. The other window is my word processor where I write the translation. So I read a passage and then translate it. If there's a word I don't understand I just mouseover it in Wenlin to see the definition (I paste the chapter in Wenlin first and read off that).

    That's part of the reason my Peerless Sword translation is so much slower than what I can do here, because that novel is not available online. I just have to look at the book and translate, which is a lot slower because it takes longer to look up stuff I don't know.

    What do you think you might be missing?
    You use Wenlin, good to knows. I use MDBG. Like others, I try to improves my Chinese But sometimes is so frustrating because there is so many characters that I do not knows. SO most of the times I just give up, and wait for translations to come out. I will try play with Wenlin someday.

    I can read Chinese, but only simple characters, so most of the times I can skim through the story lines. But description and fight scenes get lost along the way.

    About the missing things, nah forget about it.

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    Senior Member whiteskwirl's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by theSwordoftheWest View Post
    You use Wenlin, good to knows. I use MDBG. Like others, I try to improves my Chinese But sometimes is so frustrating because there is so many characters that I do not knows. SO most of the times I just give up, and wait for translations to come out. I will try play with Wenlin someday.

    I can read Chinese, but only simple characters, so most of the times I can skim through the story lines. But description and fight scenes get lost along the way.

    About the missing things, nah forget about it.
    Wenlin is great because you can put the whole chapter in at once and just read it, mousing over for a definition as needed, but more than that, Wenlin uses the ABC Chinese-English dictionary, which is the best C-E dictionary there is. It has a lot of multiple-character and multiple-word phrases that other C-E dictionaries don't have.

    Like any skill, it all comes down to practice. Wuxia is a good genre to read to study Chinese, though, because the writing is so repetitive. Every author has their own style, but they all still use certain stock phrases and describe certain things the same way, so you see a lot of the same words and phrases and sentence structures over and over and over again. Tedious at times, honestly, I wish wuxia was better-written, but it makes learning easier.

    Fight scenes are tough, but you just have to push through. If you know someone you can ask for help that would be ideal. Then it's just a matter of reading more. Eventually it will click for you and it won't be a problem anymore.

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    read it, like it, great.
    thanks

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    Not sure what to make of this yet. I guess a synopsis really would be handy.

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    Quote Originally Posted by whiteskwirl View Post
    No, I don't machine translate. Are you trying to say the quality is bad? No, I have two windows open on my computer, one is Wenlin software, which is a Chinese dictionary program where you can write or paste in text and then mouseover for definitions. The other window is my word processor where I write the translation. So I read a passage and then translate it. If there's a word I don't understand I just mouseover it in Wenlin to see the definition (I paste the chapter in Wenlin first and read off that).

    That's part of the reason my Peerless Sword translation is so much slower than what I can do here, because that novel is not available online. I just have to look at the book and translate, which is a lot slower because it takes longer to look up stuff I don't know.

    I just spent a lot of time that I really should have used for other things to get this first chapter out. I had not intended to translate the whole chapter at once, but one thing led to another.
    No, I'm just curious. I think there aren't many people who are native english speakers and then learned Chinese and do translating. Your method is pretty similar to mine.
    Current Translation: I Shall Seal the Heavens
    Recommended Translation: Heroes Shed No Tears

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    Quote Originally Posted by deathblade View Post
    No, I'm just curious. I think there aren't many people who are native english speakers and then learned Chinese and do translating. Your method is pretty similar to mine.
    I got into it because there was a lot of Chinese stories and novels, old and new, that I wanted to read but which hadn't been translated to English. So I just had to learn Chinese so I could read them. I started because I wanted to read 唐傳奇, and it just went from there.

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    Hi whiteskwirl,

    I glanced through this.

    I personally think it might be good if you explain the idioms? An example would be the meaning of 'smear blood on the mouth', because I doubt there are people who would understand idioms when they are used.

    One other thing would be, should Daoist instead be Taoist? I am not certain because I have not read the original Chinese text, but from my understanding, 'Taoist' would traditionally be used so I am not certain if you are referring to the same thing.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rylain View Post
    Hi whiteskwirl,

    I glanced through this.

    I personally think it might be good if you explain the idioms? An example would be the meaning of 'smear blood on the mouth', because I doubt there are people who would understand idioms when they are used.

    One other thing would be, should Daoist instead be Taoist? I am not certain because I have not read the original Chinese text, but from my understanding, 'Taoist' would traditionally be used so I am not certain if you are referring to the same thing.
    "smear blood on the mouth to complete an alliance pact" - Says it right afterward what it means. It's not an idiom, it's just part of the ritual. They're making an alliance and smearing blood on the mouth is part of that. I don't know any more details than that, but the test itself explains what it's for.

    The reason you often see "Taoist" is because the romanization system which used to be used all the time was Wade-Giles, which romanized it that way. That "T" though has always been pronounced like a "D", it's just that nobody knows that unless they know the Wade-Giles system. Nowadays everyone uses the Hanyu Pinyin romanization system, which is a bit closer to being phonetically spelled, though not quite. But at least a "D" sound is now represented by the letter D instead of T (in Wade-Giles, a T sound is represented by T with an apostrophe after it, ex. T'ang dynasty. Pinyin is: Tang dynasty).

    So Daoist is the correct way to write it using Pinyin, which is what the whole world now uses. Older scholarly texts and many current populat texts still use Taoist because Westerners are used to that, but I always use Pinyin for everything. It would be inconsistent to use Wade-Giles here, yet use Pinyin elsewhere, such as for names. Also, the general reader sees Taoist and thinks it should be pronounced with a T sound, which is wrong, but understandable. So using Pinyin also avoids this misunderstanding. The word is actually pronounced Daoist, dao is 道, which means way or path.

    Hope that clears it up. With regard to idioms, when I run across one I think people wouldn't get, I would use a note. I did make one note for a character's name just because I found it interesting, other than that I don't think there were any difficult ones, though I could have missed some. But what you mentioned is not an idiom, it's just the ritual for that alliance pact.

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