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Thread: ROCH Translation ..... 8 onwards

  1. #81
    Senior Member athlonkmf's Avatar
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    My memories might have failed me, but wasn't there a scene where XLN actually told YG her name?
    It was when they were both poisoned and decided to marry or something.

  2. #82
    Senior Member Athena's Avatar
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    The Seven Masters of Quanzhen:
    1) Ma Yu
    2) Tan Chuduan
    3) Liu Chuxuan
    4) Qiu Chuji
    5) Wang Chuyi
    6) Hao Datong
    7) Sun Buer

    Ma Yu and Sun Buer were husband and wife before they became Taoist priests.
    Tan Chuduan was a blacksmith, but he passed away in LOCH.
    Liu Chuxuan was the most intelligent one of the seven martial arts brothers and sister.
    Hao Datong used to be a man of wealth.

    Grandmother Sun calls Xiao Longnu, Miss Long.
    So huge, so hopeless, to conceive
    As these that twice befell
    Parting is all we know of heaven
    And all we need of hell.

    Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

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    Moderator Noodles's Avatar
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    That morning, the Lu manor was filled with countless heroes and good men, though the Lu manor was large, there were people everywhere. After lunch, the members of the Beggar Clan assembled at the forest outside the Lu manor. The ceremony of the old chief passing the position to a new one is the grandest ceremony in the Beggar Clan, all the members from the east, south, west and north no matter what rank gathered here, the heroes that was invited to the Lu manor were also invited to watch the ceremony.
    Over the last ten years or so, Lu You Jiao has helped Huang Rong in running all matters in the clan, he was just, he boldly did things and accepted the consequences, the members from the ‘dirty’ clothed and ‘clean’ clothed factions all respected him. Elder Jian of the ‘clean’ clothed faction has passed away, elder Liang has been incapacitated by illness and elder Peng had revolted and left, there wasn’t anyone that could challenge for the position of chief, this is why this year’s ceremony proceeded smoothly. Huang Rong acted accordingly to the clan’s rules, after passing on the clan’s historic treasure the Dog Beating Stick to Lu You Jiao, she and the rest of the members spat on him to complete the procession, his face and body was covered in phlegm.
    Yang Guo saw that this procession was extremely strange. He was just about to go and tell them the news of Hong Qi Gong’s death when suddenly an old beggar leapt up onto a rock and said loudly, “Chief Hong Lao has an order, he told me to tell everyone.” When the clan members heard this they all gave a cheer. They haven’t had any news from Hong Qi Gong for over ten years, they all missed him, now they heard that he had news, they all called out in joy.
    An old beggar in the crowd called out, “Blessings to elder Hong Lao!” The crowd all cheered, their voices really shook the earth. Cheers followed after cheer, only after a while did it cease.
    Yang Guo saw that everyone was moved, some even had tears on the faces, he thought, “If a man can achieve respect like this, life will not be in vain. Look at all these people in joy, how can I tell them that Hong Qi Gong has passed away? Never mind the fact that I’m a nobody, if I tell them such news they might not believe me. Once they hear this there’ll be chaos, this isn’t a good news anyway, why spoil things for them?” He continued, “If they asked how did Hong Qi Gong die, I can’t keep the fact that he was duelling with godfather from them. The Wu brothers know that I’ve learnt the [Toad Stance] from godfather, what reason have they got not to tell everyone this? There are many beggars here and it will be unavoidable for some of them to be suspicious of me helping my godfather and kill chief Hong Lao, then I’ll have no way to argue against hundreds of mouths. After the meeting I will explain everything carefully to auntie Guo and allow her to tell them the news.” He thought that it was fortunate for him that the old beggar dashed out and allowed him time to think, if he blurted it out, he would have caused himself a lot of trouble.
    He heard the old Beggar say, “Half a year ago, I was on the Guang Nan Dong road in the Shao province and meet elder Hong Lao in Xing Jun, and drank wine with him. He’s very healthy and his appetite is great, he’s drinking ability is the same as before, it’s still the only one of its kind.”
    The crowd of beggars all cheered with delight again, within the cheers were sounds of laughter.
    That old beggar interrupted and continued, “Over the last few years, chief Hong Lao has killed many unscrupulous officials and evil scoundrels who have terrorised our citizens, he said he had heard a news, there are five evil bastards called the ‘Five Clowns of the Tibetan Border’ who are following the orders of the Mongols, they have done many evil things in places like Chuan Dong and Hu Guang, he said that he was going to take a look himself and if it is true, of course he’s going to take their lives.”
    A middle-aged beggar got up and said, “The ‘Five Clowns of the Tibetan Border’, they caused trouble a while back, but they move without trace, our brothers in Chuan Dong were not able to find them. Recently, they have been no news of them, Chief Hong Lao must have sorted this problem.” The beggars and heroes who watched the ceremony all applauded.
    Yang Guo was gloomy, “How would you people know that after chief Hong Lao and my godfather made the ‘Five Clowns of the Tibetan Border’ into invalids, the two of them left the world not long after.”
    The old beggar continued, “Chief Hong Lao said, ‘Right now the world is in a mess, the Mongols are slowly invading southwards, eating into us Song’s land, those in our clan must have loyalty in our hearts, swear to kill our enemies and defend our aggressors with all our might.” All the beggars agreed and their spirits soared.
    The beggar said, “The government is in a mess, corrupt ministers hold the power, they want some rotten officials to protect the people and defend the land, they’ll never be able to do this. The foreign aggressors are getting closer, everyone must have the will of protecting our country, chief Hong Lao ordered me to tell all of our brothers to remember the words ‘loyalty’.”
    All the beggar clan members responded, they all called out, “We swear to follow chief Hong Lao’s teachings.”
    Yang Guo has never been taught ever since he was young and don’t know how important the word ‘loyalty’ is, he saw the beggars all trembling with justice and righteousness, he couldn’t stop himself from being touched and felt that how he made fools out of the Beggar Clan members before was wrong.
    After the meeting, the clan’s matters were discussed; there was no need for the outsiders to listen and they all made their leave.

    When evening came, the Lu manor was filled with lanterns and candles, all glowing brilliantly. There were over two hundred tables all together in the main hall, side halls, back and front halls, and the courtyard; over half of the world’s heroes attended this feast. This heroes’ feast is an exceptional event, an once in a lifetime, if the host didn’t have so many acquaintances who all respected him, it would be difficult for anyone to invite so many heroes of the wulin world.
    Guo Jing and Huang Rong accompanied the main guests and sat in the main hall. Huang Rong arranged a place for Yang Guo and sat on the table next to hers. Guo Fu and the Wu brothers sat quite a distance away instead.
    Guo Fu was surprised at first and thought, “That person doesn’t know martial arts, why did mother give him such a good seat?” She had a sudden thought, and couldn’t stop herself from being alarmed, “Oh no, crap, father said he was going to betroth me to him, could it be that mother is listening to father?” The more she thought about it the more frightened she became, she remembered how she saw her mother holding Yang Guo’s hand while walking, looking very close, she also thought about how her father and mother respected each other, if her father wants to do this, mother would not disagree. She was worried and angry, she thought, “How can I get married to that little beggar?” She wanted to cry out.
    Wu Xiu Wen happened to speak at this time, “Sister Fu, look at where that punk named Yang is sitting, he counts as a hero?”
    Guo Fu forced out, “If you’ve any skill then drive him away!”
    The Wu brothers had originally just looked down on him but after hearing Guo Jing saying that he wanted to betroth Guo Fu to him, they made him their enemy.
    Wu Xiu Wen heard what Guo Fu said and thought, “Why don’t I insult and embarrass him? He’ll be humiliated in front of all these heroes. Master wife has always favoured those with a strong character, when the one named Yang trips up in public, master wife will not want him to be her son in law.” He has just learnt the [Solitary Yang Finger] from his martial uncle, now was a good time to test it you, he said, “Since he wants to pretend that he is a hero, I’ll let him show off and then make him lose face.” He stood up and poured two cups of wine, he went over to Yang Guo and said, “Brother Yang, you must be proud of yourself over these last few years. I give you a toast.”
    When Yang Guo saw Wu Xiu Wen coming towards him, he had seen him glance over at Guo Fu incessantly and his face had a sly look, showing that he didn’t have any good intentions, he thought, “He’s come over here to give a toast, he must be up to something. But he wouldn’t dare to put poison in the wine.” So he stood up and received the wine, he said, “Thank you.” He drank the wine in one gulp.
    Just at this moment, Wu Xiu Wen stretched out his index finger and touched Yang Guo’s waist. He turned his body to block the view of others, he had sealed Yang Guo’s ‘Laughing Waist’ pressure point, according to his martial uncle, if you use the [Solitary Yang Finger] to seal an enemy’s ‘Laughing Waist’ pressure point, the opponent will laugh and call out, if the pressure point is unsealed, the opponent will keep on laughing without stopping.
    Yang Guo had already put his body on guard, how could he fall for the surprise attack? With Yang Guo’s present skills, he would never be ambushed by his opponent’s surprise attack. With Yang Guo’s temper, normally he would never take this ill intent and would definitely counterattack fiercely, if he doesn’t trip Wu Xiu Wen up he would have sealed Wu Xiu Wen’s ‘Laughing Waist’ pressure point instead but after having that conversation with Huang Rong, he was feeling happy and relaxed, he thought, “Although there is some animosity between us, you are still uncle and auntie Guo’s disciple, I won’t mess around with you.”
    He secretly circulated the internal energy that Ou Yang Feng had taught him, in a flash all his bodies’ vein circulated the opposite way, all his pressure points changed places, but because he wasn’t upside down and he didn’t have much experience with this type of kung fu, after one inhalation and one exhalation, his body reverted back to normal, he needed to circulate his internal energy again to reverse his veins. But this short period of time was enough to render Wu Xiu Wen’s attack useless.
    Wu Xiu Wen saw that after touching his pressure point, Yang Guo had a little smile on his face, he was still sitting in his original position and there was no reaction from him, he was surprised and returned to his table. He quietly said, “Brother, how come the kung fu that martial uncle taught us doesn’t work?” Wu Xiu Wen told him what had just happened.
    Wu Dun Ru chuckled and said, “Your stance must have been wrong or you’ve pointed to the wrong place.”
    Wu Xiu Wen quickly said, “What’s wrong? Take a look.” He raised his finger and then pointed to his brother’s waist; the appearance, stance and strength was exactly the same as the method that his martial uncle taught him.
    Guo Fu’s lips stuck up and said, “I thought that the [Solitary Yang Finger] was something amazing, huh! It doesn’t look like its much use.” She knew that the Wu brothers have learnt the [Solitary Yang Finger] but she herself doesn’t know it, although she knows that they will definitely teach her eventually, she still had a feeling of unhappiness in her.
    Wu Dun Ru stood up and poured two cups of wine, he went over to Yang Guo and said, “Brother Yang, me and my brother haven’t seen you for many years, now we meet again now, junior here also presents a toast to you.”
    Yang Guo laughed in his heart, “Your little brother has already shown his skills, let’s see what other great skills you have as the elder.”
    He was holding up a piece of beef with his chopstick and didn’t put it down, he stretched out his left arm to catch the cup and laughed, “Thank you.”
    Wu Dun Ru didn’t try to hide it, he stretched out his right arm, his sleeve carried a gust of wind, he stretched out his finger to seal the pressure point on Yang Guo’s waist. Yang Guo saw that the finger was coming in fiercely, his kung fu of reversing his veins was limited, he was afraid that he would not be able to block this attack, he drop his arm and used the slab of beef to protect his ‘Laughing Waist’ pressure point. This move started second but arrived first, Wu Dun Ru did not notice this, his finger went forward and pierced the slab of beef. Yang Guo placed his chopsticks down and said, “After drinking wine, it would be best to follow it with a slab of beef.”
    Wu Dun Ru raised his hand and saw his five fingers holding onto a large piece of beef, its juice dripping everywhere, he couldn’t hold onto it but couldn’t fling it away, he gave a furious stare at Yang Guo and scurried back to his seat.
    Guo Fu saw that he was holding a piece of beef, it was very strange and she asked, “What’s that?”
    Wu Dun Ru’s face turned red, he couldn’t reply. Just at this time, the Beggar Clan’s new chief Lu You Jiao raised a cup and stood up. He gave a toast to all the heroes and then clearly said, “Our clan’s chief Hong Lao has passed on an order, he said that the Mongols are invading south and commanded all our clan members to defend our country against them with all our lives. All the heroes of the world are gathered here today, everyone here has loyalty in their hearts, we need to discuss the situation and come up with a plan that will drive the Mongols away, never to come back to the land of the Song’s.”
    After he finished, all the heroes stood up, a word here and there, everyone had the same thought. Most of the heroes that have attended this feast are patriots, when they saw that their country was close to danger, they were all worried, now someone has raised this issue, all the loyal and patriotic heroes all responded.
    A silver bearded old man stood up, his voice was like a bell as he said, “There’s a saying, ‘A snake without a head will not move’, we have loyalty in our hearts but without a leader we will not be able to accomplish our goals. Today, most of the world’s heroes are here, we need to elect a worthy, revered and respected hero that will take charge and lead us.”
    A lot of them shouted out, someone called out, “Let senior here take charge!” “There is no need to elect someone else!”
    The old man laughed and said, “What sort of class does an rotten old man such as I belong to? The great fighters of wulin have always been Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar and Central Divinity. Central Divinity elder Chong Yang has passed away long ago, Eastern Heretic Island Master Huang does as he pleases by himself, Western Poison does not belong to our group, Southern Emperor lies faraway in Dali and is not a Song citizen. Only Northern Beggar senior Hong Lao can be the Chancellor of all the heroes here.”
    Hong Qi Gong is one of Wulin’s most eminent men, everyone agreed to this and stared to clap, no one had any other suggestions.
    A voice from the crowd said, “Of course chief Hong Lao can be the Chancellor of the heroes here. Apart from him, is there another who is as skilled, as revered and has the ability to take on such an important position?”
    The voice was clear, everyone looked in the direction of the voice but didn’t see anyone. Actually, it was a very short person who had spoke out and was covered by the others around him.
    Someone asked, “Who said that?”
    The short man leapt on the table. He was about three feet tall, over forty years of age; his face exuded a serious air. A few of the crowd knew that he was a good man of Jiang Xi, ‘Short Lion’ Lei Meng. The crowd wanted to laugh but when they saw his fierce eyes, they all swallowed their laughter.
    They heard him continue, “But chief Hong Lao goes and come as he pleases, over the last then years he has only shown himself once, if when we discuss the important matter of defending against the enemy but have no way to call him out, what should we do then?”
    Everyone thought, “What he said does make sense.”
    Lei Meng said, “Everything we are doing today, its all for protecting our country, not for ourselves. We will elect a vice Chancellor, when Chancellor Hong Lao is roaming around the lands, we will follow his orders.”
    In the midst of shouts and applause, someone called out, “Guo Jing Hero Guo!” Someone else called out, “Chief Lu is the best candidate.” Another person said, “The previous Beggar Clan chief is wise and clever, and she is the disciple of chief Hong Lao, I elect chief Huang.” Someone called out, “Let the present Master Lu.” Another one called out, “The Quan Zhen sect leader Ma Yu. The Eternal Spring elder Qiu.” Everyone discussed this.
    In this chaos, four people quickly entered the main hall; it was Hao Da Tong, Sun Bu Er, Zhao Zhi Jing and Yin Zhi Ping. When Yang Guo saw they had returned he thought, “Huh, you want to go another round with me?”
    Guo Jing and Lu Guan Ying were delighted, they left their table to meet them. The Quan Zhen sect is famous for its orthodox martial arts, if there weren’t any skilled fighters from Quan Zhen attending today’s heroes’ feast, of course their reputation will be tarnished.
    Hao Da Tong whispered into Guo Jing’s ear, “There is an enemy coming to cause trouble, be careful. We have come back especially to bring this news.”
    Guo Jing pondered, the Blithe elder Hao Da Tong is one of the skilled fighters of Quan Zhen, there aren’t many people in the world of Jiang Hu with better skills than him, he trembled slightly as he said these words, the enemy must be extremely powerful, he quietly asked, “Ou Yang Feng?”
    Hao Da Tong said, “No, it is the Mongol that I’ve suffered under before.”
    Guo Jing searched his mind and nodded, “It’s prince Huo Dou?”
    I'm worse at what I do best
    And for this gift I feel blessed

  4. #84
    Senior Member eeyore's Avatar
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    thanks lulla and Athena

    As I reading Noodles's translation I'm sure I will come with more question...

    I'm reading ROCH and watching LOCH at the same time frame, can't help comparing how lucky GJ and how unfortunate YG ....
    Spring Summer Autumn Winter.
    Pair ducks nest fly together.
    Clemencies. Summer life, feather winter white.
    Green meadow in spring, before the autumn bite.
    Watching the red gown.
    And none else, alone.

  5. #85
    Senior Member Anonymous's Avatar
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    Thumbs up Thks

    Hiya gys,
    Thks Noodles for another another excellent translation.
    -
    Things are slowly heating up. Love an underdog that's beginning to kiss major ***. So far, just newbies. Two down, many to go. haha
    -
    And GuoFu is beginning to get annoying... so far, it's understandable.

  6. #86
    Senior Member athlonkmf's Avatar
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    Originally posted by eeyore
    thanks lulla and Athena

    As I reading Noodles's translation I'm sure I will come with more question...

    I'm reading ROCH and watching LOCH at the same time frame, can't help comparing how lucky GJ and how unfortunate YG ....
    of course, you should not forget that YG's bad luck would lead him to be the Wicked West he's going to be.

    I guess JY wanted to accentuate the fact that every result had it's cause.

    GJ received many hardships too, although not as obvious as YG. GJ lost his father, his mother, his masters and even a short time his Yung Yee.

  7. #87
    Senior Member athlonkmf's Avatar
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    Default Re: Thks

    Originally posted by Anonymous
    Hiya gys,
    Thks Noodles for another another excellent translation.
    -
    Things are slowly heating up. Love an underdog that's beginning to kiss major ***. So far, just newbies. Two down, many to go. haha
    -
    And GuoFu is beginning to get annoying... so far, it's understandable.
    hmm... can't remember correctly, but has YG ever really LOST a fight from now on?

    I remember GJ losing all the time or has a lot of major close calls in LOCH until the very end, but YG only got beaten up in the beginning (as kid, by those Wu brothers) and after that he always managed to either win or escape successfully, never lost. Even in ChunZhen sect he managed to win all the time.

  8. #88
    Senior Member Han Solo's Avatar
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    Default Re: Re: Thks

    Originally posted by athlonkmf
    hmm... can't remember correctly, but has YG ever really LOST a fight from now on?
    Are you really sure? It would not be hard to find some fights where YG really lost it all.

  9. #89
    Senior Member eeyore's Avatar
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    Originally posted by athlonkmf
    of course, you should not forget that YG's bad luck would lead him to be the Wicked West he's going to be.

    I guess JY wanted to accentuate the fact that every result had it's cause.

    GJ received many hardships too, although not as obvious as YG. GJ lost his father, his mother, his masters and even a short time his Yung Yee.
    Yeah, you right..

    beside that, GJ and YG has totally different character. If the goodheart GJ has YG life, he'll probably end up dead. Or if the rebellious YG has GJ fortunate, he'll be become like his dad, YK.
    Spring Summer Autumn Winter.
    Pair ducks nest fly together.
    Clemencies. Summer life, feather winter white.
    Green meadow in spring, before the autumn bite.
    Watching the red gown.
    And none else, alone.

  10. #90
    Senior Member athlonkmf's Avatar
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    Default Re: Re: Re: Thks

    Originally posted by Han Solo
    Are you really sure? It would not be hard to find some fights where YG really lost it all.
    well, it has been more than 10 years, but only scene i'm notsure about was the one in the ForgetEmotionValley where he fight the valley owner. I don't remember the true fight anymore..

    As for others it seemed to me that either he wins or he was planning on escaping anyway and his escapes always succeeded.

  11. #91
    Senior Member athlonkmf's Avatar
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    Originally posted by eeyore
    Yeah, you right..

    beside that, GJ and YG has totally different character. If the goodheart GJ has YG life, he'll probably end up dead. Or if the rebellious YG has GJ fortunate, he'll be become like his dad, YK.

    If GJ was YG in ROCH, this story would be really short, he'd probably not survived his first major scene: where gets poisoned and West Poison helps him out if he calls WP his dad. GJ would probably say something like: "Dad? but I already have a dad, I can't have another dad" and WP would have smacked his head wide open


    But if YG was in LOCH as GJ, the meeting with WY would be REALLY devastating for the people around them.... But he probably won't get H7Q as his mentor because of his personality then..

  12. #92
    Senior Member Han Solo's Avatar
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    Athlonkmf: you were right, i was thinking more about the Loveless valey, but i guess that's not exactly fair as he was poisoned by then. But AFAIK, YG was still inferior to Li Mo Chou among other ppl even up to the middle of the story.


    Btw, an open question: When the Wu brother's tried their 1-Yang finger onto YG, they only aimed at one acupoint. I always thought that one of the priciples of 1-Yang is to strike multiple acupoint at one go. Am i right, and the Wu brother's action was due to the fact that they only started to learn this technique?

  13. #93
    Registered User TianBoGuang's Avatar
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    great translation. good job Noodles.

  14. #94
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    Before Hao Da Tong could reply, the sound of a horn blowing was heard outside.
    Lu Guan Ying called out, “Greet the guest!” As soon as he finished, tens of people short and tall stood at the front of the hall.
    The many heroes that were eating and drinking happily in the hall were all slightly surprised when they saw these people suddenly entered, but they assumed that these people have come to attend the heroes’ feast, they didn’t see anyone they knew and didn’t take it to heart.
    Guo Jing passed on this news to Huang Rong, the both of them stood up and along with the Lu couple, they went out to meet the visitors. Guo Jing knew the elegant and prosperous looking Mongolian prince Huo Dou; the sharp faced and skinny Tibetan monk was Huo Dou’s apprentice brother Da Er Ba. Guo Jing has met the two before, though the two were extremely good fighters, their skills were below his, there was no need for him to be alarmed. He the saw the two stand away from each other, a person in a red gown walked forwards, the person was extremely tall and skinny, it was a Tibetan monk who looked like a bamboo tree, there was a groove on his head, like a plate. Guo Jing and Huang Rong glanced at each other, Huang Yao Shi has told them about the martial arts of the secret school of western Tibet before, when one has reached an extremely high level, the person’s head will have a groove, this person has a very deep groove, could it be that this person’s skills are extremely high? How come they have never heard about such a highly skilled fighter from western Tibet from the Jiang Hu world? The both of them were on guard. They bowed to greet the visitors at the same time.
    Guo Jing said, “Everyone has come from afar, come in and have a few drinks.” He knew that they were the enemy and didn’t say any fake pleasantries. Lu Guan Ying ordered his servants to set up another table.
    The Wu brothers have always helped their master and master wife in general affairs. They directed the servants and arranged a table to be placed at the best position, they kept on apologising to the guests as they did this and asked them to move their seats. Guo Fu saw Yang Guo was sitting there comfortably without moving, she didn’t like this one bit and thought, “You count as a hero? When all the world’s heroes die, it still won’t be your turn.” She made a signal to Wu Xiu Wen with her eyes and then mouthed in the direction of Yang Guo. Wu Xiu Wen understood, he went over to Yang Guo and said, “Brother Yang, you need to move your seat a little.” He didn’t wait for his reaction and instructed the servants to move his cup and chopsticks to the table in the furthest corner in the room. Yang Guo’s temper started to flare up, he didn’t say anything and just chuckled to himself.
    Prince Huo Dou said to the tall Tibetan monk, “Master, I’ll introduce you to the two most famous heroes in the central plains.”
    Guo Jing was alarmed, “So he’s the Mongolian prince’s master.” The monk nodded, his eyes seemed to be open but also appeared to be closed.
    Prince Huo Dou said, “That person has been Mongolia’s western levy right general Guo Jing hero Guo, that is Mrs Guo, she is the Beggar Clan’s chief Huang.”
    When the monk heard the words ‘Mongolia’s western levy right general’ he suddenly opened his eyes and looked around, he took a look at Guo Jing’s face and then his eyes half closed again, he didn’t take the Beggar Clan’s chief to heart.
    Prince Huo Dou said clearly, “This is my mentor, the holy monk of western Tibet, everyone calls him Jin Lun Fa Wang, the reigning Mongolian queen has assigned him with the title of the first protector of Mongolia.” Those words were said very clearly, all the heroes that were present heard everything he said. The crowd was stunned and looked at each other thinking, “We are here discussing the Mongols invading south, where on earth did this protector of Mongolia come from?”
    Yang Guo was even more alarmed, he remembered how Hong Qi Gong and his godfather praised the kung fu the ‘Five Clowns of the Tibetan Border’, calling it terrific, and told them to tell their grandmaster to come down and have a duel; right now both Jin Lun Fa Wang and the master of the ‘Five Clowns of the Tibetan Border’ Da Er Ba are here while his godfather and Hong Qi Gong have both passed away, he was sad. He knew that this tall and skinny Tibetan monk must be extraordinary.
    Guo Jing didn’t how to confront these people, he just said calmly, “You have come form afar, please have a few drinks.”
    After three rounds of wine, prince Huo Dou stood up and opened his fan, revealing a delicate and beautiful peony flower, he said with a clear voice, “We have not received an heroes’ invitation but we have come here to attend the heroes’ feast. We are uninvited guests, but when I consider all the worthy and admirable people that will be gathered here, I had to take the risk. The gathering of the world’s heroes is a rare event, in my opinion, a chancellor needs to be elected who will organize the wulin world in the interests of the worlds’ heroes, what does everyone think?”
    ‘Short Lion’ Lei Meng said loudly, “What you said is not wrong. We have already elected the Beggar Clan’s chief Hong Lao as our chancellor, now we are in the middle of the electing a vice chancellor, what are your views?”
    Huo Dou chuckled, “Hong Qi Gong has passed away a long time ago. Electing a spirit as a chancellor, you treat us all as dead people?”
    As he said this, all the heroes made a clamour, the Beggar Clan members were especially angry, all shouting out.
    Huo Dou said, “Fine, if Hong Qi Gong isn’t dead, then please invite him out.”
    Lu You Jiao raised the Dog Beating Stick twice and said, “Chief Hong Lao is roaming the world, he never stays in one place. How can you see him so easily?”
    Huo Dou chuckled, “Without mentioning the fact that it isn’t clear whether Hong Qi Gong is alive or dead, even if he was alive and is sitting here, with his martial arts and virtue, how can he compare with my master Jin Lun Fa Wang?” All the heroes of the world listen, apart from my master Jin Lun Fa Wang, there isn’t a second person who can take the position of the Chancellor of wulin.”
    Where the crowd heard these words, they all knew the reason to why these people have come here, they knew that the heroes’ feast will not be in the interests of Mongolia and so have come here to compete for the place of wulin’s Chancellor. If Jin Lun Fa Wang manages to take the place of Chancellor on virtue of his kung fu, the heroes of the central plains will of course ignore his orders but the Han’s defensive force against the Mongols will have been severely weakened.
    Everyone knew that Huang Rong was wise and ingenious, they all turned their heads and looked at her, all thinking, “Even if these people’s kung fu was a lot stronger, they will never be a match for the few thousands of us that are here, whether it is one on one or a mass brawl, we won’t lose, everyone just listen to chief Huang’s instructions.”
    Huang Rong knew that today matters will not be settled unless martial arts are used, a mass brawl will of course result in victory but the opposition will not be convinced, she said clearly, “Right now, all the heroes here have elected Hong Qi Gong to be the Chancellor of wulin, this Mongolian gentleman has another suggestion, wanting to elect a person that no one here has heard of or seen, someone called Jin Lun Fa Wang. If Hong Qi Gong was here, then they both can show their divine skills and duel to a result, but senior is roaming the world and enjoying life, killing Mongols and getting rid of our country’s traitors, he didn’t predict that today you would have come here by your own choice and so he isn’t here to greet you, when he knows later on of this news, he would definitely regret his absence. Luckily, Hong Qi Gong and Jin Lun Fa Wang both have disciples, why don’t we let the disciples represent their master in this exchange?”
    Most of the heroes of the central plains know that Guo Jing’s skills were terrifyingly good and now in the prime of his life, he could be said to be the world’s number one fighter, even if Hong Qi Gong comes out right now, he might not be stronger than him, if he fights with the disciples of Jin Lun Fa Wang, victory is certain, there is no way to lose, everyone called out great and shouted out, shaking the tiles of the roof. When those in the side halls and back hall heard this news, they all rushed over, the front and back courtyard, the entrances to the room was full of people, everyone calling out to help enforce this suggestion. The numbers on Jin Lun Fa Wang’s side was low, their voices could not compete.
    Years ago, Huo Dou had been defeated by Guo Jing in one stance, then, he thought that Guo Jing was a disciple of Quan Zhen’s, after that he looked into who he was and then found out about his background. His apprentice brother Da Er Ba and him were afraid that even if the two of them went up at once, they would most probably lose to this disciple of Hong Qi Gong’s, hero Guo, but if they didn’t follow Huang Rong’s suggestion, they will not be able to challenge for the position of wulin’s Chancellor, this change of event really was unexpected, they couldn’t think of a way to respond.
    Jin Lun Fa Wang said, “Fine, Huo Dou, go ahead and compete with the disciple of Hong Qi Gong’s.”
    Those words were extremely heavy, he said this all in one breath without a need to breathe in again. He has always lived in western Tibet and thought that with Huo Dou’s martial arts, he will have little competition in the central plains, the only people that he won’t be able to beat are the likes of seniors such as Northern Beggar, Eastern Heretic, and Western Poison, he didn’t know that has lost to Guo Jing before.
    Huo Dou agreed but then quietly said, “Master, that disciple’s of Hong Qi Gong is amazing, disciple is afraid that he will not be able to achieve victory, I don not want to tarnish master’s name.”
    Jin Lun Fa Wang’s face sunk, and said, “Could it be that you can’t beat someone else’s disciple? Go now.”
    Hou Dou was in a very embarrassing situation, he has always kept the matter of losing to Guo Jing away from his master, right now he didn’t dare to tell him about this at this final moment, he knew that his master has the ability to go through heaven and penetrate earth, he had no match under heaven, all that they had to do was to hurry to the heroes’ feast and the position of wulin’s Chancellor will be in their hands. How could he have guessed that he would have to fight with Guo Jing, in this urgent situation, a fat man dressed in the clothes of a Mongolian official went over to him and whispered a few words into his ears. As soon as Huo Dou heard this he was delighted, he stood up and opened his fan, fluttering it a few times before he said clearly, “I have heard that the Beggar Clan has a treasured martial arts, its called the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] or something, it is chief Hong Lao’s most powerful skill. Little prince is brazen, I’ll rely on my fan to break this skill. If I break this skill, then it looks like the martial arts of Hong Qi Gong are just merely mediocre!”
    At first, when she saw someone whispering into Huo Dou’s ear, she didn’t take it to heart, suddenly she heard him mentioning the [Dog Beating Stick Technique], in just a few words he had placed their most powerful fighter Guo Jing to one side, who exactly came up with this plan? She took a look at that Mongolian and then it became clear, she recognised that it was one of four elders of the Beggar Clan elder Peng. So he has gone to rely on the Mongols, he is now wearing Mongolian clothes and has grown a beard, his hat hung down, covering his eyes, if she didn’t study him carefully, she would not be able to recognise him, only he would know that the [Dog Beating Stick Technique] is passed on from chief to chief only, though Guo Jing’s skills are high, he doesn’t know this set of kung fu. These words were deliberately aimed to challenge Huang Rong and Lu You Jiao.
    Lu You Jiao has just started to learn the [Dog Beating Stick Technique], his understanding is limited and may not be able to use it, she herself will have to fight.
    Guo Jing knew that his wife’s [Dog Beating Stick Technique] is ingenious, it would be able to beat Huo Dou, but in the past few months, her babies chi has been moved, her body was not in tune, she cannot fight with someone else so he got out of his seat and stood between the tables and said, “Chief Hong Lao’s has never used his [Dog Beating Stick Technique] so easily, come and experience his [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms].”
    Jin Lun Fa Wang’s eyes half opened and half closed, he saw Guo Jing moving out of his seat and standing up, he had an extraordinary air about him. He couldn’t stop himself from being secretly alarmed, “This person really is extraordinary.”
    Huo Dou laughed and said, “At Chong Yang Palace in mount Zhong Nan, we have met once before, that day, you said that you are under the tutelage of Ma Yu, Qiu Chu Ji and the other Taoists, why are you now calling yourself a disciple of Hong Qi Gong’s?” Guo Jing was about to reply when Huo Dou continued, “A person having many masters is a common thing. Today, it is an exchange of kung fu between Jin Lun Fa Wang and Hong Qi Gong, though your kung fu is great, your skills come from a variety of schools, you cannot show Hong Qi Gong’s real abilities.”
    His argument made some sense, Guo Jing was already clumsy with words and had no way to rebuke.
    The crowd all called out, “If you’ve got guts, then fight with hero Guo, if you haven’t scurry away with you tail hanging behind you.” “Hero Guo is Hong Qi Gong’s disciple, if he doesn’t qualify, then who can represent Hong Qi Gong?” “First suffer under the [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms], you still have time to experience the [Dog Beating Stick Technique].”
    Hou Dou laughed towards the sky, as he laughed he circulated his internal energy, ‘ha’ ‘ha’ ‘ha’ ‘ha’, ‘he’ ‘he’ ‘he’ ‘he’, he covered up the clamour made by the heroes, his voice shaking the flames of the candles in the hall.
    The heroes looked at each other, their faces losing their colour, they thought, “Who would have thought that such a young man who looks like a well to do person has such strong internal energy.” In a flash, in had become quiet.
    Huo Dou said to Jin Lun Fa Wang, “Master, we have allowed ourselves to be wronged by these people. At first when we knew that today is the heroes’ feast, we rushed to attend from thousands of miles away, but who knew that these people are just cowards. Let’s go quickly, if you unluckily become the Chancellor of these people, it’ll make our people say that you are in the same league as these people, won’ that tarnish your great name?”
    The heroes all knew that he was trying to anger them, wanting to force Huang Rong to come out and battle but his words were extremely infuriating, it really was difficult for anyone to endure these words. In the midst of these shouts and calls from the crowd, Lu You Jiao showed his bamboo stick and walked forward, standing between the tables. He said, “I am the newly appointed Beggar Clan chief Lu You Jiao, I have only learnt less than ten percent of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique], I actually shouldn’t use it. But you insist on tasting the pain of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique], I’ll beat you with a few stances.”
    Last edited by Noodles; 06-17-03 at 03:03 PM.
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    Lu You Jiao’s martial arts was already profound, though he hasn’t learnt all of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique], it has improved his martial arts a significant level. He saw that Huo Dou was around thirty years of age, he thought that even with a great teacher, his internal energy will not be profound, he saw that Huang Rong’s wasn’t well, whether he wins or loses, he couldn’t let her take the risk.
    Huo Dou just wanted to ensure that he would not have to fight Guo Jing, he wasn’t afraid of anyone else and immediately held his hand and bowed, he said, “Chief Lu, nice to meet you. There’s no one better to exchange moves with than you.”
    Huang Rong was secretly anxious, but she remembered that Lu You Jiao was the newly appointed chief, since he has made the challenge she couldn’t stop him, otherwise she will question Lu You Jiao’s clout and show that her power is above the chief’s, she had to allow him to fight for a while fist and then decide what to do afterwards.
    The managers of the Lu manor instructed the servants to move the tables, creating seven, eight tables worth of space and add more red candles, lighting up the centre of the hall as if it were daytime.
    Hou Dou called out, “Engarde!” As he said this his fan swept across, a gust of wind threw itself towards Lu You Jiao, carrying a slight fragrance. Lu You Jiao was afraid that the wind carried poison and quickly darted out of the way of the wind. Huo Dou’s fan waved out, a ‘ca’ sound was heard, the fan folded and formed an eight-inch long pressure point sealing pen, and was thrust towards the enemy’s side. Lu You Jiao’s bamboo stick went forward, he ignored the threat of having his pressure point being sealed and used the ‘coil’ formulae to trip and lift. The [Dog Beating Stick Technique] really was extremely ingenious, its direction is extremely difficult to predict, Huo Dou lightly leapt up to avoid this but he couldn’t have guessed that the stick would suddenly flip up fiercely and would hit his lower leg. He stumbled, leapt forward three steps and then stopped himself from falling down.
    The watching heroes all cheered and called out, “The dog’s been hit!” “This will teach you the power of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique]!”
    Huo Dou’s face turned red immediately after this, he gracefully turned around and threw out a left palm. Lu You Jiao kicked out his left leg and swept with bamboo stick, the stick was in a flying dance, it kept on changing without stop.
    Huo Dou was secretly alarmed, “The [Dog Beating Stick Technique] does live up to its name!” He concentrated and used all his strength with the fan in his right arm and palm in his left. Lu You Jiao has yet to complete the final stage of the stick technique, he had victory in his grasp many times but in the end it was a waste of his efforts.
    Guo Jing and Huang Rong watched by the side and kept on saying to themselves, “What a pity!”
    After another ten stances or so, the weaknesses in Lu You Jiao’s [Dog Beating Stick Technique] began to show itself. Yang Guo saw every stance clearly and couldn’t stop himself from creasing his brows. Luckily the [Dog Beating Stick Technique]’s name is famous, and as soon as it was used, Huo Dou was struck in the lower leg, Huo Dou was worried and didn’t dare to get too close, otherwise Lu You Jiao would have lost long ago. Huang Rong saw that something was wrong and was about to call out and tell Lu You Jiao to come back when Lu You Jiao suddenly used a stance of [Hitting the Dog’s Back from the Side], the bamboo stick flashed across and struck Huo Dou’s left cheek. But this stance was too heavy, the lightness of the skill was lost, Huo Dou suddenly stretched out his hand and held the bamboo stick in his hand, he had no more worries and suddenly threw out a palm that struck Lu You Jiao in the chest and then followed it by a sweep, a ‘ka la’ sound was heard as Lu You Jiao’s leg was broken, a pool of blood was spat out as he fell forwards. Two seven band members dashed forward to support him. When everyone saw how ruthless Huo Dou was, they were extremely angry and they all shouted out and cursed.
    Hou Dou displayed the gem green jade bamboo stick, he was proud with himself and said, “The Beggar Clan’s treasure is the Dog Beating Stick, so it’s nothing more than this.”
    He wanted to insult the central plain’s largest heroic clan, he held the Dog Beating Stick in his two hands, wanting to snap it in half. Suddenly a green image flashed, an elegant and beautiful young woman stood in front of him, she said, “Wait!” It was Huang Rong.
    Huo Dou saw that her movements were extremely fast and was in shock, all he could say was, “You… ” Her left hand swept across and her right hand scoured across his eyes. Huo Dou quickly stretched his arm out but by that time, Huang Rong had already snatched the Dog Beating Stick back.
    This stance of snatching the stick back is called, [Snatching the Stick from the Mouth], it is one of the extremely advanced stances of the [Dog Beating Stick Technique]. Years ago at the mount Jun Beggar Clan gathering, Huang Rong used this technique to snatch the Dog Beating Stick away from Yang Kang three times. The changes of this stance is extremely mysterious, when snatching the stick in a hundred ways there would be one hundred successes, even a stronger opponent cannot avoid this.
    All the heroes cheered. Huang Rong returned to her seat with the Dog Beating Stick by her side, leaving Huo Dou in the middle in an embarrassing situation. Though his martial arts were profound, he couldn’t explain how Huang Rong snatched the stick away, he thought, “Could it be that this woman knows how to perform illusions?” He heard the onlookers ridiculing him, he glanced at his master and saw his face was not pleased. He thought that such a beautiful woman must have limited abilities so he called out, “Chief Huang, I have handed the Dog Beating Stick back to you, please come and exchange a few moves. You won’t dare to turn this invitation down will you?” As soon as he said this, indeed there were people who thought that it wasn’t Huang Rong who had snatched back the Dog Beating Stick just now, but it was Huo Dou who handed it back to her so they can duel. Only people with high martial arts could see that it was Huang Rong who had used force to take the Dog Beating Stick back.”
    When Guo Fu heard these words she was extremely angry, in her life she has never seen anyone who dared treat her mother with such disrespect, a ‘shua’ sound was heard as she took out her precious sword.
    Wu Xiu Wen said, “Sister Fu, I’ll help you vent your anger.” Wu Dun Ru also had the same thought, the two of them leapt into the heart of the main hall at the same time coincidentally.
    One of them said, “My master wife’s body is very precious.”
    Another one said, “How can she fight with a ruffian like you.”
    The other said, “First experience little master’s kung fu first before doing anything else.”
    Huo Dou saw that the two were young but their movements were steady, they have been taught by famous masters, he thought, “We have come here today to show off our martial arts and break the spirits of the Han martial artists, fighting a few more rounds will be great. But there are many of them and few of us, if we induce a brawl, things would be hard to handle.”
    So he said, “All the world’s heroes listen, these two little punks want to duel with me, if I do fight then I’m afraid that people will say I’m bullying them, if I don’t I’m afraid that people will think that I’m scared of them. Let’s do it this way, we will agree to compete for three rounds, whichever side wins two rounds, then the place of Chancellor goes to them. The fight between elder Lu and me does not count, we will start again. Does everyone agree?” Those words were said with his status in mind, displaying his great generosity.
    Guo Jing, Huang Rong and all the special guests discussed this quietly, they felt that it would be difficult to reject this suggestion. Today, apart from Huang Rong who cannot come out and fight, the strongest people here are Guo Jing, Hao Da Tong and Reverend Yi Deng’s fourth disciple Zhu Zi Liu. Zhu Zi Liu is a citizen of Dali but he still had ties to this matter, Dali and Song depended on each other, and in the recent years Dali have suffered the oppression of Mongols, it could be said that they shared the same enemy, never mind the fact that he had a very good friendship with the Guo couple, he was duty bound to help. They decided that Zhu Zi Liu would battle with Huo Dou in the first round, Hao Da Tong with Da Er Ba in the second, Guo Jing and Jin Lun Fa Wang in the final round. Whether or not this plan would assure victory was uncertain, suppose Jin Lun Fa Wang’s martial arts are so high that even Guo Jing can’t withstand him, then it won’t be inconceivable that they will lose all three rounds, if that happens they would really have suffered a crushing defeat.
    Before the decision was definite, Huang Rong suddenly said, “I have a way to guarantee victory.”
    Gu Jing was delighted and was just about to ask her when suddenly wind sounds created by weapons could be heard, everyone turned their heads and saw the Wu brothers using their long swords fighting with Huo Dou with his fan. The Guo couple and the disciples of Reverend Yi Deng Dian Cang Yu Yin and Zhu Zi Liu were worried about their safety so all of them concentrated on the battle.
    The Wu brothers heard Huo Dou was rude towards them in his words, calling them little punks, these words were heard by everyone, how could they let this down? Never mind the fact that they just saw their master wife snatch the bamboo stick back from him, they thought that although he beat Lu You Jiao, it was because Lu You Jiao’s kung fu weren’t up to scratch, its not because that this person is terrific; they also thought that they both have been taught great martial arts from Guo Jing, if one of them can’t beat him the two of them will definitely be able to overcome him. They didn’t care about competing over three or four rounds, they really were like newborn calves that were not afraid of tigers, the brothers signalled with their eyes and thrust out their swords together.
    However, though Guo Jing’s martial arts were high, he has yet to pass on most of his skills to his disciples, he himself has understood the theories of advanced martial arts but when he was passing it on, he wasn’t able to express its meanings and was unclear. The Wu brother’s natural endowments were just average, normal, how much can they learn in just a few years? In just a few moves, their long swords were controlled by Hou Dou, unable to use it fully. Hou Dou wanted to show off in front of these people, he saw Wu Xiu Wen’s sword coming in and threw up his left index finger holding up the sword on the flat side, the fan waved across and the base struck the top of the blade, a ‘zheng’ sound was heard as the sword snapped in two. The Wu brothers were shocked, Wu Xiu Wen quickly leapt out of the way, Wu Dun Ru was afraid that his brother would be hurt so he extended his sword towards Huo Dou’s back forcing him to stop his attack. Huo Dou had predicted this move, he didn’t turn back and folded his fan sending it backwards. The two weapons met, the fan hitting against the flat side of the sword, Huo Dou twisted his fingers around twice. Only his fingers moved but the Wu Dun Ru’s sword followed the fan in turning around, his joints would definitely twist out of place if he didn’t let go, he could only loosen his hand and let go of the sword. He leapt back and saw the sword flying upwards, the sword glimmered in the candlelight before it fell down to earth.
    The Wu brothers were shocked and angry, though they were empty handed they were not afraid. Wu Dun Ru’s left hand hung horizontally in the air, holding the position of a stance of [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms]; Wu Xiu Wen’s right hand hung down, his left index finger slightly crooked, as soon as the enemy attacks he will use the [Solitary Yang Finger]. Hou Dou saw that these stances looked serious, he was wary and didn’t dare to look lightly upon it, he thought, “Winning up to this point is enough, there is no need to refuse something good, asking for more is not in my interests.”
    The [Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms] and [Solitary Yang Finger] are first class skills in the world of martial arts, though the Wu brother’s internal energy was weak, the stances they put out was perfect, when normal people saw it, they didn’t think much of it but in the trained eyes of Huo Dou, he knew that it wasn’t simple, he laughed and then bowed with his hands, he said, “Please return, we are just trying to find a winner, not fighting to the death.” His tone sounded a lot more polite.
    The Wu brothers’ faces showed signs of embarrassment, they knew that fighting empty handed with him will most probably result in an even more embarrassing defeat, the two of them hung their heads with an gloomy expression and retreated to the sides but not going back to where Guo Fu was.
    Guo Fu dashed forward and called out, “Wu Brothers, the three of us will go up and fight him again.” The crowd looked on. Guo Fu’s right hand held her sword and her left hand waved out, she said, “Us three apprentice brother and sister will go up together.”
    Guo Jing shouted, “Fu Er, stop making trouble!” Guo Jing was the person that Guo Fu most feared, she could only retreat a few steps and stare angrily at Huo Dou. Huo Dou saw that she was beautiful and glamorous, he laughed as he nodded his head. Guo Fu gave him a glance and turned her head away, ignoring him. The Wu brothers were really frightened that Guo Fu would ridicule them, now they saw her shielding them, showing care for them, they felt great comfort in their hearts.
    Huo Dou opened his fan and fluttered it a few times and then said, “Of course that last battle does not count. Hero Guo, the three people from our side will be my master, my apprentice brother and I. My kung fu is the weakest, I’ll be in the first round, who have you elected to fight? Whoever wins or loses, it is now not a game.”
    Guo Jing heard that his wife had a plan for a guarantee victory, he knew that she was cunning and intelligent and had hundreds of ideas, though he didn’t know what ingenious plan she had in mind he had great confidence in her and said loudly, “Fine, we will decide this over three rounds.”
    Last edited by Noodles; 06-17-03 at 03:11 PM.
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    Huo Dou knew that the strongest person on the opposite side was Guo Jing, his master has no match on earth, he will definitely beat him. Though Huang Rong used a strange move to take the stick back, judging from her delicate and apprehensive appearance if she really fought she may not be that strong and the others don’t even need any consideration, his eyes swept across the crowd and then said, “If anyone has another suggestion then please express them now. Once victory is decided, then the orders of the wulin Chancellor must be followed.”
    The heroes wanted to agree but they had seen him defeat Lu You Jiao and the Wu brothers one after the other sparingly, they didn’t know what other abilities he hasn’t shown yet, none of them dared to interrupt and all turned their heads towards the Guo couple.
    Huang Rong said, “You are competing in the first round, your apprentice brother in the second, your master in the third, that’s decided and won’t change right?”
    Huo Dou said, “That is correct.”
    Huang Rong said quietly to those around her, “Our victory is assured.”
    Guo Jing said, “How?”
    Huang Rong said quietly, “Now, the king wins when the third class ‘si’ (team of four horses) competes against his first class ‘si’.” After she said this she looked as Zhu Zi Liu. Zhu Zi Liu laughed as he continued quietly, “Beat the king by using first class ‘si’ against his second class ‘si’; beat the king by using middle class ‘si’ against his third class ‘si’. The result of these races was that Tain Ji lost the first one but won the last two and received a thousand gold bars from the king.” Guo Jing looked blank, he didn’t understand what they were talking about.
    Huang Rong whispered into his ear and said, “You’re well versed in military techniques, have you forgotten the ingenious plan of the ancestor of military strategies Sun Bin?” Guo Jing immediately remembered the times when he read ‘Wu Mu Yi Shu’ (a book containing military strategies) when he was younger, Huang Rong had told him a story; Qi’s general Tain Ji and the king of Qi had a horse race, the stake was a thousand gold bars, Sun Bin taught Tian Ji a method that will guarantee victory, use his third class horses to compete against the king of Qi’s first class horses, use his first class horses against king of Qi’s second class horses, use his second class horses against the king of Qi’s third class horses, the result was two wins and a lost, winning the thousand gold bars. Now, Huang Rong was using this idea.
    Huang Rong said, “Apprentice brother Zhu, with your [Solitary Yang Finger], beating that Mongolian prince is not a hard thing to do.”
    Years ago, Zhu Zi Liu had been a lawyer and a governor in Dali, he was an educated and intelligent man. The martial arts of the school of the Mu Li Duan’s rely on one’s understanding. When Zhu Zi Liu first entered the tutelage of the Southern Emperor, his kung fu was the worst out of the four disciples ‘Fisherman, Woodsman, Farmer, Scholar’, ten years later he moved up to second place, now his martial arts were much higher than his three older apprentice brothers. Reverend Yi Deng treated his four disciples equally, he taught them all the same kung fu, in the end it was Zhu Zi Liu who had understood the most especially the [Solitary Yang Finger], he has refined it to a superb state. Right now his kung fu could not compare with Guo Jing, Ma Yu and Qiu Chu Ji but he was better than Wang Chu Yi, Hao Da Tong and the others.
    When Guo Jing heard his wife say this he interrupted, “Asking Taoist Hao to fight Jin Lun Fa Wang may be a bit too risky. If the victory or lost won’t affect the overall result, then I’m afraid during that round the enemy would too be ruthless, it would be difficult to defend against him.” He spoke frankly and didn’t care that he counted as the first class ‘si’, regarding Hao Da Tong as the third class ‘si’ may be a bit too impolite.
    Hao Da Tong knew that this duel will affect the fate of the country, this was not the normal duels for fame that occurs frequently in the world of wulin, if the position of the Chancellor of wulin is taken by the Mongolian protector, not only will the Han martial artists lose their face, they will also lose their spirit, the goal of uniting together and fighting against the invaders will be unable to be achieved, he said, “There is no need to worry about that, as long as it’ll help my country, losing my life to that Tibetan monk is not important.”
    Huang Rong said, “All we need to do is to win the first two matches, then there will be no need for the third match.” Guo Jing was delighted and agreed.
    Zhi Zi Liu laughed and said, “I have an important mission, if I lost to that Mongolian prince then I’ll suffer a lifetime of insults from the world’s heroes.”
    Huang Rong said, “There’s no need to be modest, please go ahead.”

    Zhu Zi Liu went to the middle of the hall and saluted Huo Dou with his hands and said, “In the first match, it will be me who’ll be asking for some advice. My surname is Zhu first names Zi Liu, the things that I love most in life are poetry and literature, my kung fu is very coarse, I have come to request some pointers from you.” As he said this he searched himself, from his sleeve he took out a pen, he circled it a few times in the air, looking completely like a scholar.
    Huo Dou thought, “These types of people will have profound skills, I cannot take it easy.” He held his fists and returned the greeting and said, “Little prince requests pointers from senior, please show your weapon.”
    Zhu Zi Liu said, “Mongolians are a barbaric nation, they have yet to be enlightened, since you want some pointers, then I will point you in the right direction.”
    Huo Dou was furious, “You insult my country, I can’t spare you.” He opened his fan and said, “This is my weapon, are you going to use a sabre or a sword?”
    Zhu Zi Liu wrote the word ‘pen’ in the air and laughed as he said, “In my life I have always associated with a pen, how would I know how to use other weapons?”
    Last edited by Noodles; 06-19-03 at 01:55 PM.
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    Huo Dou concentrated on his pen, he saw the bamboo tube and the brush head, at the tip of the pen was half an inch of black ink, there was nothing special about it, it was completely different to the ‘chun gang’ pen that people in wulin used for sealing pressure points, he was about to ask about it when a girl in white entered from outside.
    She stood at the entrance of the hall, her eyes slowly scoured across the crowd, it was as if she was looking for someone. Everyone in the hall was concentrating on Zhu Zi Liu and Huo Dou, when the girl in white entered; they turned their heads involuntarily and looked at her. They saw her face was pale white as if she was ill, though the light of the candles were like red clouds, her face had no hint of blood in them, showing off her elegance even further, her beauty was incomparable. People use the phrase ‘as beautiful as a goddess’ to describe a girl’s beauty but no one knew how beautiful a goddess was, as soon as these people saw this girl, they couldn’t stop the words ‘as beautiful as a goddess’ from running though their minds. It was as if a light fog, a thin mist, surrounded her body, she appeared real but also looked like an illusion; she was not from this world.
    As soon as Yang Guo saw this young girl, he was overjoyed, his chest was like as if it was struck by a metal hammer, he leapt from the corner of the room and hugged her, he called out, “Gu Gu, Gu Gu!”
    That young girl was Xiao Long Nuu.

    After she left Yang Guo, she circled around the land a few times and then returned to the ancient tomb. Before she was eighteen, living in the ancient tomb was not hard for her, but after she met Yang Guo and experienced many twists and turns, she could never return to the way that she was before not caring about anything.
    Every time she sat on the chilled jade bed to practice her martial arts she remembered that Yang Guo had slept on this bed; when she sat at the table eating she remembered the times when she ate with Yang Guo. After practicing kung fu for a little while she would become troubled and impatient, it was difficult to carry on. She spent over a month like this before she could endure it no longer, she decided to look for Yang Guo but she didn’t know how she would treat him once she had found him. She didn’t know anything about worldly matters, similar to a person from the mountains or wild lands, right now something has suddenly changed and was unfamiliar, she was completely at a loss. After she left the mountain, everything that she saw was new to her, how would she know the roads, whenever she saw someone passing by she would ask, “Have you seen Yang Guo?” When she was hungry she would take other people’s food, she didn’t know that money was needed, she created a lot of trouble along the way. But when people saw that she was innocent and beautiful, they couldn’t refrain themselves from giving her allowances, no one caused trouble for her. One day she heard two men talking in a restaurant, she said that the famous heroes of the world will be going to Da Xing Guan’s heroes’ feast at the Lu manor, she thought that Yang Guo might be there so she found out how to get there and headed for the Lu manor.

    Apart from Hao Da Tong, Yin Zhi Ping and Zhao Zhi Jing, no one amongst the two thousand present knew a thing about her, all they saw was that she was extremely beautiful, everyone’s heart felt touched. Sun Bu Er knew about this person but has never seen her before. Yin Zhi Ping’s face was pale, his body trembled. Zhao Zhi Jing looked at him and chuckled.
    Guo Jing and Huang Rong was greatly surprised with how Yang Guo reactions to her.
    Xiao Long Nuu said, “Guo Er, indeed you are here, I’ve finally found you.”
    Tears flowed from Yang Guo’s eyes as he choked, “You… you won’t abandon me again will you?”
    Xiao Long Nuu shook her head and said, “I don’t know.”
    Yang Guo said, “Where ever you go I will follow.”
    There was over a thousand people here in the main hall but the two acted as if no one was there, talking naturally. Xiao Long Nuu held Yang Guo’s hand, she didn’t know whether she was happy or sad.
    Though Huo Dou’s heart was moved when he saw Xiao Long Nuu, he didn’t know that this was the girl whose hand in marriage he was trying to get years ago at mount Zhong Nan, he saw that Yang Guo’s garments were ragged and torn but the two of them looked very close, his heart was disgusted and he said, “We are dueling, go and find another place!”
    Yang Guo was not in the mood to talk to him, he held Xiao Long Nuu’s hand and went over to the side and sat down shoulder to shoulder on a rock base of a pillar, his heart was bursting with joy.
    Huo Dou turned around and said to Zhu Zi Liu, “Since you are not using a weapon, we’ll fight with our fists.”
    Zhu Zi Liu said, “Not so. Us Chinese are a polite nation, not like the barbaric Mongols. In a treaty, one uses a pen to communicate, the enemy has a pen but no sabre, who needs a weapon?”
    Huo Dou said, “Since it is like this, engarde!” He opened his fan and swept it across. Zhu Zi Liu slanted his body, step to the side and swung his head, his left hand swept lightly across him, the pen in his right hand went towards Huo Dou’s face. Huo Dou moved his head to avoid it, he saw the opponent’s movements were light and his stances strange, he didn’t dare to attack, wanting to see through his kung fu clearly before making a decision.
    Zhu Zi Liu said, “The enemy’s pen can sweep away a thousand soldiers, you need to be careful.” As he said this the tip of the pen went forward. Though Huo Dou learnt martial arts in western Tibet, Jin Lun Fa Wang was very knowledgeable, there was nothing he didn’t know about the central plains’ martial arts. When Huo Dou’s training was drawing to a close, he had decided to go to the central plains to make his name, and so Jin Lun Fa Wang taught him how to defeat the proudest kung fu of the central plain’s most famous sects. How would he know that he would meet up with Zhu Zi Liu, the weapon he used was strange, his stances were unimaginably strange, he has never heard of such things, he saw the pen tip stroking across and hooking down, it was as if he was writing but the places where the pen was pointing were the places of the body’s main pressure points.
    Zhu Zi Liu is the number one calligrapher of the northern sky, though he practices martial arts he hasn’t stopped practicing literature, in the end, the more he practiced his kung fu the refined it became and eventually the two arts became connected to each other, the [Solitary Yang Finger] and calligraphy became one. This kung fu was his own invention, if the opponent was stronger but didn’t have a background in literature, it would be extremely difficult for them to defend against this martial arts in literature and literature in martial arts, a kung fu where both literature and martial arts have reached an extremely advanced state. Luckily, Huo Dou has studied under a Han scholar when he was young, he has read books and recited poems, and was able to defend against this attack. But he saw the tip of the pen flashing across, in the calligraphy was the aim of sealing pressure points, in the pressure point sealing was the aim of calligraphy, it was like a silver hook and metal scull, the strokes were swift and powerful and in the midst of this there was a leisurely and elegant air.
    Guo Jing wasn’t versed in literature, as he watched he thought this kung fu was extraordinary. Huang Rong’s father taught her both martial arts and literature, when she saw this excellent kung fu, she couldn’t stop herself from admiring and enjoying it.
    Guo Fu went over to her mother’s side and asked, “Mother, he’s holding that pen stroking it here and there, what kind of game is that?”
    Huang Rong was concentrating on the battle and just replied, “The Fang Xuan Ling Inscription.”
    Guo Fu didn’t understand and asked, “What Fang Xuan Ling Inscription?”
    Huang Rong was absorbed in the battle and didn’t reply.
    The ‘Fan Xuan Ling Inscription’ is a work written by the Tang minister Chu Sui Liang, and it is also a refined calligraphy style. The people before them have judged Chu’s book and likened it to ‘a girl from heaven scattering flowers’, the calligraphy style was firm, graceful and elegant, concentrating on creating beauty, every stroke was airy, completely focusing on this aspect. Zhu Zi Liu’s [Solitary Yang Book Finger] uses a pen as the finger, every stance was measured and cautious, like a pen writing a book. Though Huo Duo did not understand the intricacies of the [Solitary Yang Finger], at least he has written the ‘Fang Xuan Ling Inscription’ before, he knew that the horizontal stroke will be followed by a vertical stroke, he defended well, he didn’t show signs of losing.
    Zhu Zi Liu saw that he knew this style of calligraphy; he called out and shouted, “Careful! A cursive calligraphy style is coming.” Suddenly he took off his hat and shot it at him, his sleeve flew across the air, he dashed forward madly, his stances not following the style. He looked as if he was mad, crazy, drunk, like if a spell was put on him, the pen’s aim raining down, the finger moving like a dragon and snake.
    Guo Fu was startled and laughed as she asked, “Mother, has he gone mad?”
    Huang Rong said, “If he drinks three cups of wine then the pen would be even better.” She picked up a wine pot and poured three cups, she called out, “Brother Zhu, drink three cups to further you enjoyment.” The cup was in her left hand, the middle finger of her right hand flicked out at the cup, the wine cup flew steadily across. Zhu Zi Liu raised his pen and brushed down, forcing Huo Dou to the side as he caught the cup, drinking it in one go. Huang Rong flicked the second and third cup over in the same way. Huo Dou saw the two of them offering wine in the battle, not even noticing that he was there, he wanted to wave his fan and knock the cups out of the air but Huang Rong followed Zhu Zi Liu’s pen’s intent, she flicked out the cups in the gaps, Huo Dou was unable to knock them out of the air.
    Zhu Zi Liu drank three cups dry and called out, “Thank you, very handsome [Divine Flicking Finger] kung fu!”
    Huang Rong laughed and said, “Very spirited ‘Zi Yan Tie’!”
    Zhu Zi Liu gave a laugh and thought, “I have always thought that I am clever, but I am still a level below that girl. I have studied this skill bitterly for over ten years, just one look and she saw through it.”
    The work that he was using now was Zhang Xu’s ‘Tie Yin Tie’ of the Tang dynasty. Zhang Xu has been given the title of ‘Cao Sheng’, the saint of cursive calligraphy. Du Fu’s poem ‘The Song of the eight drinking Immortals’ says; Zhang Xu’s three cups passes onto Cao Sheng, the hat is removed showing his head in front of the king, the pen descending on the paper like a fog.
    Huang Rong offered him three cups firstly to acknowledge the class of kung fu he was using, secondly, once the influence of wine increases, the calligraphy will be even better, and lastly she wanted to dampen Huo Dou’s spirits.
    She then saw Zhu Zi Liu write ‘The Bold Man Fights for the Road’, on the ‘road’ word, the pen hooked up and brushed across Huo Dou’s clothes. The heroes all laughed as Huo Dou retreated backwards.

    End of Chapter 12
    I'm worse at what I do best
    And for this gift I feel blessed

  18. #98
    Moderator Noodles's Avatar
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    Just some notes:

    Can't think of an accurate translation of the Wu Mu Yi Shi so I've left it in pin ying with a description of what it is in brackets. Anyone got a suggestion.

    Also the 'pen' that Huo Du is talking about, I don't know what pen he's describing so I've left in pin ying again

    There's two parts where poems/prose are involved so again the translation at those parts aren't very good.

    I actually wanted to add the chinese character that Zhu Zi Liu draws but when I add in the text all the speech marks go crazy. Anyone got a solution cos theres more of that in the next chapter.

    Translation of Jin Lun Fa Wang comes to something like King of the Golden Wheel. Thought I like to mention this cos later on, there's a reference to what his true nickname should be.

    To Han Solo: I thought that 1 Yang Zi aimed at one pressure point at one time. I don't recall any bits where mutilple pressure points at attacked with one stroke, can you elaborate where you got that from?
    I'm worse at what I do best
    And for this gift I feel blessed

  19. #99
    Senior Member athlonkmf's Avatar
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    Woohoo reading feast! god job. Now I can in peace

  20. #100
    Senior Member someguy44's Avatar
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    Wholly crap Noodles! That's a lot of translating in one go. Anyway, keep up the good job. Chow!
    No longer walking amongst the living...

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