HSDS 1st Edition (translated into English from the Indonesian translation by BBT/OKT)

[Kirara]

post #6
Riding on her mule slowly, various thoughts crossed her mind.
"Maybe The Three Saints of Kun Lun don't have any powerful martial arts skills, so I won't see any interesting fight," she thought. "Ah, if only any of them has a skill comparable to Grandfather, Father, Mother, or Big Brother Yang, then the incident The Three Saints of Kun Lun challenging Shaolin will be worth watching."

Remembering Yang Guo, her heart felt sad again. For 3 years, she had journeyed a lot of places but she had never found him. Mount Zhong Nan and The Living Coprse Cemetery were all quiet, there were only millions of falling flowers in The Valley of Millions Flowers, there were only ruins in The Valley of No Love, whereas in The Feng Ling Ferry there were none of his footsteps either.

She sighed many times and thought: "Suppose I could find him, would there be any meaning at all? Wouldn't I just add pain to my own wounds? Isn't his disappearance to a faraway place be much better for my own good? Aaaah! It is already clear for me, that what I'm thinking is just like seeing the reflection of beautiful flowers in a mirror, like the reflection of the moon on water. But why am I unable to control myself....to erase this strong urge to find him."

While being lost in thought, she let her mule walk wherever it wants to go. Past the afternoon, she had left Mount ShaoShi for some distance behind. Along the way, she enjoyed the beautiful sceneries and from a dsitance she looked at the eastern part of Mount ShaoShi which reached up high into the sky.
Suddenly, out from the willow trees over there, she heard a faint sound of the zither.
"Who is playing a zither in a deserted mountain like this?", she asked herself in her heart. Feeling curious, she jumped down from her mule and walked towards the sound. After she came nearer, she learned that the zither's sound was being accompanied with something else, like the sound of someone singing.

Since she was small, under her mother's tutorials, Guo Xiang had learned various arts, so although she just learned the basics, she knew well the arts of playing the zither, to play the Chinese chess, to read and write literature, and to draw, which was common for educated people of the time. Furthermore, with her high intelligence, she was no less able than most people and she could even match her Grandfather in music and could also match Cu Cu Liu in literature. Now, after she heard this sound of zither, immediately she approached it while trying to make herself unnoticed.

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After just a few meters away, it was clear that the zither was accompanied by the sounds of hundreds of birds. Amazed, she peeped from behind a big tree and she could see a man wearing a white robe was sitting under 3 willow trees and was playing a zither. And perched on the branches of the 3 willow trees, hundreds of birds, big and small, were chirping and singing in tune with the zither. The sound of the zither and the chirping of the birds were so harmonious that from afar, it would be difficult to know which was the zither sound and which was the birds' chirping sound.

Guo Xiang became very enchanted and with her heart pounding, she listened to the extraordinary music, which became louder and louder. Suddenly, she could hear the noise and flutter of wings flapping in the air and approaching the place, and very soon hundreds of sparrows arrived on the scene and and while some then perched themselves on the branches, some kept flying around circling the place.
Guo Xiang suddenly remember something: "Ah!", she thought. "Isn't this song that Pek-niauw-hong song (Hundreds of Birds Came to pay respect to the Phoenix) which has been forgotten by the world? According to Grandfather, the sound of the zither imitates the sound of a Phoenix and it can attract hundreds of birds to come. But, is it true that such an unbelievably amazing skill exist in this world?"

After a while, the zither sound turned softer, and slowly the birds began to leave the branches and just flew around above the trees. All of a sudden, she could hear "Tring!", and with that sound the man stopped playing. After flying a few more circles, all the birds left.

That man raised his head to look up and after sighing. he began to sing:

Why is daytime so very short?
Hundreds of years passed in just a blink of an eye,
The sky so vast and limitless,
The fate of sufferings cannot be defied.

Look at the hair of the holy Nun,
Part of it already as white as snow,
The God meets The Goddess
And laughed out loud a million times.

I want to take out a carriage,
Push it, and return to my old hometown
Pak-tauw poured some wine,
And invited everybody to drink a cup.

My dream is not to obtain power and riches,
But to stay young as long as forever

The man sang so sadly, as if he felt that human life is full of endless sufferings which cannot be avoided. Guo Xiang felt so moved that without knowing it, her tears dropped running down her cheeks. She raised her head and sang:


Swirling my sword!
Raising my eyebrows!
Clear water, white rock, why can't you two mix together?
Human being lives without a real friend,
Even if living a thousand years, it's meaningless!

[Kirara]

post #7
Suddenly from below his zither, the man took out a sword which had a green glimmer.
"Aha! So he is a bun-bu-coan-cay (a person well versed in both martial and literary arts), she thought. "Let me see how good his swordmanship is."

The man walked slowly to a clearing on the ground, under an old willow tree. But instead of practising his swordmanship, he made several lines on the ground with his sword, line by line.
"Eh, what kind of swordmanship is that?" the girl asked herself, feeling surprised. "He's really a peculiar man."
The man kept drawing lines on the ground, horizontally. After drawing 19 lines, he stopped and started to draw vertical lines now, with each line having the same distance from the previous one, the distance was more or less a foot long. And just like the horizontal lines, he also made 19 vertical lines.

Imitating what the man did, Guo Xiang also drew the same lines on the ground using her index finger. "Ah! Drat it!" she thought. "Wei qi chessboard!" (wei qi is a kind of chess using white and black pieces).
After finishing drawing the lines, the man draw a circle at top the left and another at the bottom right corners of the board. Then he also drew a cross each at the top left and bottom right of the board.
Peeping from a distance, Guo Xiang got it that the circles stood for the whites while the crosses stood for the blacks.

The man then began to move his pieces. After making 16 moves, he seemed to hesitate whether to make the whites kept a defending position all the time. He sticked his sword into the ground and thought deeply.

"Looking at what he is doing, he must be someone who always lives in loneliness," she thought. "He played the zither by himself and he made friends with the birds. And he has no friend to play wei qi with, and has to play by himself."

After thinking for a moment, the man started to move his wei qi pieces again. It turned out that the whites did not want to lose, therefore very soon a big battle between the whites and the blacks occured on the top left corner of the chessboard. The whites and the blacks defeated each other fiercely to win the Central position. But the whites kept losing to the blacks because it was already at a disadvantage previously. After moving 93 moves, the whites were in a real bad position but still unwilling to admit defeat.

The girl watched the battle with her heart beating fast. Suddenly she couldn't stand anymore and shouted: "Why so unwilling to leave the Central and retreat to the West?"
The man was shocked. He could see now that there was indeed a vacant plain on the West, and if the whites retreated to that vacant plain, the match would end with a draw.
"Good! Good!", he said in a loud voice and quickly moved his white piece to the West. It was after making a few more moves that he recalled the person giving him the hint. He threw his sword to the ground and turned around.
"Which honorable expert has come and helped me?" he shouted. "I am very grateful.".
After saying this, he bowed towards Guo Xiang's direction.

The girl could see clearly now that he was about 30 years old, with long oval face and deep eyes, while his body was tall and thin. Being a martial arts heroine who did not care much about the ancient formalities that separate men and women, Guo Xiang walked out from her hiding place and said with a laugh: "I was admiring your music when you played your zither accompanied by hundreds of birds. And after that, with no less admiration, I watched how you drew the lines to create a wei qi chessboard and then played wei qi using your sword. I know I have talked too much, please forgive my rudeness."

Hearing what the girl said, the man looked very happy.
"From what you said, Miss, I bet you are good at playing the zither?" he smiled. "Would you mind playing one or two songs for me?"
"Yes I learned the zither from my mother, but compared with your ability, I am a lot worse." the girl replied. "However, I don't feel easy to refuse, so I will play a song. Please don't laugh at me."
"How would I dare?" the man said while handing her his zither with both hands.

The zither was very light and looking very old too. After tuning the zither for a while, Guo Xiang played the Ko Phoa song. The girl's ability in playing the zither was not that good and there was nothing unusual either in that song she played. But still, the man looked surprised and very happy. Why? Because the Ko-Phoa song really suit what he was feeling at that time, and so he felt very happy and grateful to the girl. Even after Guo Xiang finished her song, he still stood there looking lost in thought with his eyes gazing far away.

The lyrics of Ko-Phoa song was taken from the book of Sie-keng (Book of poems). It was a song about a hermit who lived apart from society and was wandering on a mountain. The song said that although his face showed he was feeling sad and lonely, his high aspirations as a real gentleman would never change or die away.
The girl put the zither slowly onto the ground and without uttering any words she walked away; and later riding on her mule again, she continued her journey.

Days and nights passed so quickly and before long it was the tenth day already, the day The Three Saints of Kun Lun would come to challenge Shaolin. All these days Guo Xiang thought of a good way to sneak into Shaolin Temple but she had not succeeded yet.
"I'm really ashamed to be my mother's daughter," she thought, feeling vexed with herself. "My mother is so smart, but her daughter is so stupid. Oh well, let me just go and wait outside the temple and then to grab any good chance to sneak in. Big probability that they will be too busy fighting they won't have any chance to stop me."

That morning, after eating dried ration food for breakfast, she directed her mule towards Shaolin. When she was just about 10 miles from the monastery, she heard the sound of horses' gallopping hooves and soon from the mountain road on the left, there came 3 people on horseback. The three horses, one gray, one yellow and one white, were tall and big and could run real fast. In a flash they passed the girl and ran towards the monastery. The 3 persons were about 50 years old. They were wearing short robes and each had a cloth knapsack containing weapons hanging from their saddles.

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"Ah! They must be Kun Lun Sam Seng," Guo Xiang thought. "I had better hurry or I will miss a good show."

[Kirara]

post #8
Hurriedly she clapped her mule's sides with her knees and tapped his nape. The mule brayed loudly and galloped as fast as he could. Although it was small and skinny, he turned out to be strong and could run very fast. After running for a while, it managed to catch up with the 3 horses and then ran following them from behind.

Now the girl could see the 3 persons more clearly. The one on the gray horse was small and short in stature, the one on yellow horse had medium built while the one on the white horse was thin and tall. She also noticed that the 3 horses had very long hairs all over their bodies down until their feet, therefore they were very different from the horses in China.

When they knew they were being followed, the persons quickly whipped their horses so they ran as fast as they could and soon Guo Xiang was left very far behind.
After another 2-3 miles, the girl still could not catch them up and they disappeared in the distance. Although strong, the small and skinny mule had its own limit so it appeared very exhausted already.
"Useless animal!" Guo Xiang scolded it. "Usually you like to show off and want to run as fast as you can against my will! But when comes the time I really need you to run fast, you quickly become tired!"
Realizing that it was useless to chase them anymore, she jumped down from the skinny mule and let it eat the grass while she sat resting in a stone pavillion.

She had not rested for long when suddenly she could hear the sound of horses' hooves and soon the 3 horse riders were seen again and after passing a valley, were approaching where she was.
"Eh, why did they return so fast? she wondered.

After arriving in front of the stone pavillion, they jumped off their horses and sat resting together with the girl. The one having a short stature had a red face but what was striking was his nose, which was red and shining like a burning coal. His face was always smiling. The older one having a tall and skinny body had a very pale face and from the paleness, there came out a bluish shade, as if he had never been under the sun. So the two person's complexions were so contrasted, one was burning red and the other stark pale. The third man had a medium built and his face had no extraordinary features, other than his face was yellowish, as if he was sickly.

After sweeping at the three men with her clear and sharp eyes, Guo Xiang smiled and asked them: "The three Honorable Sirs, you visited Shaolin Temple just now, didn't you? May I ask why did you return so soon after going up there shortly?"
The pale face looked at her from the corner of his eyes, looking annoyed, but the red face laughed and asked her back with a friendly tone: "How does Miss know that we went to Shaoilin Temple?"
"Where else can one go up there, if not to Shaolin Temple?", Guo Xiang said.
The red face nodded. "That's right," he said. "And where are you going, Miss?"
"You went to Shaolin Temple, so I am also going there." she replied.

Suddenly the pale face cut in: " Shaoilin Temple never allow any woman to enter the monastery and they also never allow anyone entering while carrying weapons."
He talked with an arrogant manner, he didn't even give the girl a single glance at all.
Guo Xiang became annoyed. "So why did you yourselves go up there while carrying weapons? Aren't those knapsacks containing weapons?"
"How can you compare yourself with us?" the pale face replied coldly.
"So arrogant! Who are you all in fact?" the girl said even more coldly. "So the Three Saints for Kun Lun had fought with Shaolin? How was the outcome?"

Hearing the words "The Three Saints of Kun Lun", the three men became so startled that their face expression quickly changed.
"Young Miss," the red face said. "How do you know about this matter with the Three Saints of Kun Lun?"
"Of course I know." she answered.
Suddenly the pale face took a step forward and thundered at her: "Who are you? Who's your Teacher? Why did you come here?"
"None of your business!" the girl thundered back at him.

The pale face was a very hot-tempered man and for tens of years he had been highly respected by people, so he became so furious to hear this. Instantly he raised his hand to slap the pretty girl whom he thought was so disrespectful. But before he did that, he suddenly remember his own high position. He realized that with his position as an elder, it would be very improper to humiliate a young person, and moreover, a woman. Remembering this, he canceled his former intention to slap the face, but his hand swooped down to her waist and in a second Guo Xiang's sword, scabbard and all, was in his hand!

Wandering through the world of martial arts until now, something bad like this had never happened before. Her martial arts skill was not enough yet to be able to stand safely by herself in the martial art world. But masters from the martial art world know that she was Guo Jing and Huang Rong's daughter, while masters from the evil path also know her after being asked by Yang Guo to attend her 16th birthday party. Therefore, everybody had not dared to bother her, either out of respect for Guo Jing, or out of respect for Yang Guo. And in addition to that, the girl had a beautiful face and her character was honest and open. She never acted arrogant and treated everyone equally. Even sometimes she would invite small crooks to drink wine together. That was why that although the world of martial arts was a dangerous place to roam by oneself, so far she could go unscathed. Nobody ever dared to humiliate her.

She shivered when she found out that her sword had been confiscated by the old man. She wanted to take it back, but she knew now that her kung fu was still far below his skill. However, her heart could not accept giving up just like that.
Meanwhile, while holding the sword with his left hand, the pale face said coldly: "I will keep your sword for a while. You dared to be so disrespectful to me, that must be because your parents or your Teacher have not taught you properly. Tell them to see me to take this sword back. I will give your parents or Teacher advice to pay more attention to you."

The girl's face became red woth anger. The old man really treated her as if she were a naughty and disrespectful brat. Angrily she thought: "Great! You swearing at me as well as swearing at my Grandfather, Father and Mother. Is it true that you have such a high skill of martial art that you become so arrogant? "
After calming herself from shock, while restraining her anger, she asked: "What's your name?"

The pale face grunted with his nose.
"What? You dare to ask 'What's your name?'", he yelled at her. "You really have no manner at all. You should have said it this way 'May I know the Elderly Master's Honorable name and title?' Understand?"
"Stop being so fussy!" she yelled back at him. "I am free to use any words I want. What worth is that sword anyway? You are an old man, but you don't know how to behave properly as an old man. Aren't you ashamed of yourself, stealing someone's sword like that? Forget it! I don't want that sword back!"
Then she quickly turned around and walked out of the stone pavillion.

Suddenly a figure flew to block her from going, it was the red face.
"A young girl may not get upset so easily," he said while grinning. "After you got married, do you think you can throw a tantrum like that in front of your parents-in-law? Alright let me tell you. Travelling for thousands of miles these few days. we the three brothers have just arrived in China from the West...."
"I knew already," the girl cut in while pouting her mouth. "In China we don't recognize the three of you."
The three men looked at each other.
"Miss, may I know who your Teacher is?" the red face asked.

[Kirara]

post #9
Actually Guo Xiang did not want to tell them her parents' names, but now, because she felt so annoyed, promptly she replied: "My father's surname is Guo and his name is Jing, whereas my mother's surname is Huang and her name is Rong. I don't have any Teacher; both my parents taught me a little bit of martial arts."

The three old men looked at each other. After a short while, the pale face asked: "Guo Jing? Huang Rong? From what schools do they belong? Whose pupils are they?"
Hearing these questions, the girl became furious. Her parents' names were so famous, not only in the martial arts world, but even ordinary people knew who Guo Jing was, because he had helped defending the city of Xiangyang. But noticing their serious face expressions, Guo Xiang realized something else: "Mount Kun Lun is located very far in the West and quite removed from China," she thought. "These 3 people have a very powerful skill in martial arts, but father and mother never mentioned about them either. So maybe they really have never heard of my parents' names."
Considering this, her anger disappeared. "As for myself, my surname is Guo and my name is Xiang from the city of Xiangyang. Now that I have introduced myself, may I know your Honorable surnames and names?"

The red face giggled: "Now you are using the correct words," he said. "Now you are showing respect to your elders." Pointing to the man with the yellowish face, he said ; "He is out Eldest Bother, and his surname is Pan while his name is TianGeng. As for myself, I am the Second Brother and my surname is Fang and my name is TianLo." Then she pointed to the pale face and continued: "That is our Third Younger Brother, his surname is Wei and his name is TianWang. So you see, we Three Brothers always use the word Tian (Heaven) for our names."

"Hmph," Guo Xiang grunted with her nose, and kept silent for a while to memorize the names. "But have you fought with the Shaolin monks? If you have, who has the better skill?"

The pale face - Wei TianWang - became angry and yelled loudly: "Hey! How do you know? Only several persons know we want to challenge Shaolin monks' kung fu. So how did you know? Tell us quick!" While yelling, he walked towards Guo Xiang and looked at her with glaring eyes.
Of course Guo Xiang felt annoyed. If he had asked politely, possibly she would tell him willingly. But now receiving such a rude attitude, she decided she was going to keep it a secret. "I think your name is inappropriate for you," she replied coldly. "Why don't you change it to TianE instead?" ("E" means evil).
"What did you say?" yelled TianWang.
Guo Xiang shook her head: "I have never met a man fiercer than you," she said calmly. "After stealing my sword, you still act so fiercely. Aren't you like the reincarnation of an evil animal in the sky?"

Suddenly a weird sound came out from Wei TianWang's throat, as if a wild animal roaring, and his chest swelled up and his hairs and eyebrows stood up.
"Third Younger Brother, " Fang Tian Lo, the red face, hurriedly said. "Don't get upset."
While saying this, he grabbed Guo Xiang's hand and pulled her behind himself so that he was standing between the two persons. Looking at Wei TianWang, Guo Xiang felt a bit scared of him, because she could imagine how powerful his strokes were if he attacked her.
Meanwhile, with his right hand Wei Tiang Wang pulled out Guo Xiang's sword, and with two fingers of his left hand he flicked at it lightly and "Tring!" it broke into two. Then putting the broken sword back into its scabbard, he said: "Who wants this useless weapon?"

The girl was very surprised to see this. Though this skill could not yet match her grandfather's Tan-cie Sin-thong (Powerful Skill to Flick with Fingers), it was still very rare to find someone possessing such a powerful internal strength.
Seeing the girl's startled expression, Wei TianWang became very amused. He looked up and laughed very loudly. The sound of his laughter was accompanied by internal strength, so it was piercing anybody's ears and even the roof tiles of the stone pavillion trembled.

Suddenly, with a loud noise, the roof cracked open forming a hole, and from the hole, something very big fell down to the floor. Everyone was shocked, including Wei TianWang himself. He had not expected that his own laughter, although accompanied by internal strength, was able to damage the roof of the stone pavillion.
When they confirmed what that thing was, they became even more startled. That thing lying on the floor turned out to be a man wearing a white robe, and in his hands, he was holding a zither. He lied there with his eyes closed as if he were sleeping.

Recognizing the man, Guo Xiang shouted: "Aha! So you're here too?"
The man was the person so good at playing the zither whom she had met several days ago.
Slowly the man opened his eyes. As soon as he saw Guo Xiang, he jumped up and said : "Miss, I have looked for you in a many places. I have not expected you to be here."
"Why were you looking for me? she asked.
"I forgot to ask your Honorable surname and your Noble name." he replied.
"What Honorable surname, what Noble name?" Guo Xiang scoffed. "I'm really fed up with such flowery language."

For a moment the man looked surprised, but soon he laughed loudly.
"Right, Miss, you are right, " he said. "It is true that the more a person act noble and big, the less substance he has in his brain." While saying this, he looked at Wei TianWang with glaring eyes and then laughed again coldly.
Guo Xiang was very delighted. It was beyond her expectation that the man in white robe was such an interesting person.
Wei TianWang's pale face became even paler.
"Who are you, Sir?" he asked.
The man ignored him and instead he turned to Guo Xiang asnd asked: "Miss, what's your name?"
"My surname is Guo and my name is Xiang." she replied.

The man clapped his hands and shouted happily: "Ah! I really have eyes that cannot see clearly, that I cannot see the big Mount Thaysan. So you must be Big Miss Guo, whose name is so famous in the world! Except idiots, everyone knows Great Hero Guo Jing and Great Heroine Huang Rong. In the martial arts world, who do not know them? They are well versed in both the martial arts and literary arts, they can use all kinds of weapons and know the essense of various martial art skills, they can play the zither, can play tio-qi, calligraphy, can draw, can compose poems and songs. From the past until now, their skills and ability are hard to find or to beat. Ha-ha-ha! But still, there are some idiots who have never heard of them!"

Guo Xiang was very happy. "So he must have hidden himself on the roof and heard my conversation with those three people," she thought. "But from the way he talked, he does not know my parents personally. If he knew them personally, he wouldn't have called me Big Miss Guo (the eldest of the daughter of the Guo family). It is so hilarious that he said my father is an expert at playing the zither, play tio-qi, calligraphy and stuff."
Thinking this, she smiled and asked: "What's your name?"
"My surname is He, and my name is ZuDao." he replied. (He ZuDao means "Not worthy enough to be talked about)
"He ZuDao?" the girl asked. "What a modest name."
"Yes that is my name," he said. "But I think my name is much better than names that use high-blown and bragging words like Heaven (Tian) or Earth (Di). At least my name won't make other people feel disgusted."

Of course everybody knows that he was mocking the three brothers who used the word "Tian" (Heaven) for their names. After seeing how He ZuDao dropped himself from the roof, the three men knew that he was not an ordinary man so they were restraining themselves. But listening to this latest mockery, Wei TianWang lost his temper. With one movement flipping his hand over, he hit He ZuDao's chin. He ZuDao dodged and escaped from under Wei TianWang's shoulder. Suddenly Wei TianWang found his left arm feeling numb and before he realized it, Guo Xiang's sword in his hand had been snatched off by He ZuDao! When he snatched the sword from Guo Xiang, he was already very fast. But now, one can't imagine how even faster He ZuDao was than Wei TianWang.

Wei TianWang was shocked. In a second, he leapt forward with his 5 fingers opened wide like a hook, aiming at He ZuDao's shoulder. With one swift movement, He ZuDao could dodge. Meanwhile, almost simultaneously, Pan TianGeng and Fang TianLao leapt out of the stone pavillion.

[Kirara]

I will take a brief pause because I need to learn the correct english jargons/wordings for wuxia before I make too many mistakes and confuse people here, especially at fighting scenes.
I will use the time to read the official english translation "The Book and The Sword" from the original Chinese by Mr. Graham Earnshaw because I read that Mr. Cha (Jin Yong) himself read the translation and approved of it.
I will take notes as I read and will follow the english jargons, and then I will edit the wrong wordings I made in my previous translation.

Any advice about this will be appreciated, thanks.

See you soon. I won't be long.

Notes of some english jargons:

Internal strength (Lwekang)
External strength (Gwakang)
Lightness Kung Fu (Ginkang)
(* a type of kung fu that makes extra-fast running and super-human leaps possible.)
dart (piauw), projectiles
bodyguard agency (Piauwkok), escort agency
Lead Escort
Taoist priest (Tosu)
Five Element Wheels (steel ring covered with knives)
Martial Arts Order (rules of a School)
Society (Pang)
School (Pay), school of kung fu, Clan
Sect (Kouw)
blow (hit/pukulan)
sword technique (swordmanship/ ilmu pedang)
sword style
lesson in swordsmanship
secret society
knight (hero, swordman)
stroke (an attack using a sword etc), sword stroke
move (stance/jurus)
yuedao point/spot (acupoints), yuedao kung fu (yuedao skill)
major Yuedao point
(*Yuedao points are nerve centres on the body which, when struck, can cause paralysis or even death. The same points are used for a different purpose in acupuncture)
Imperial Civil Service examination
throwing knives
scholar (siucai)
martial uncle , martial nephew
'encirclement chess' (* the game, Wei Qi, is best known by its Japanese name - Go.)
Leng Qie Jing or Leng Ga Sutra

[Temujin]

Very nice. Very well done. Keep up the great translation efforts.

[Kirara]

post #10
Feeling very vexed, Wei TianWang attacked again using both hands to launch rapid consecutive blows so that within a moment he had attacked 7-8 times. But his opponent kept calm. Although being attacked so fiercely, he didn't even attack back. Dodging to the left and right, to the front and back, he evaded those powerful blows,

Although she was young and her kung fu was mediocre, Miss Guo was the daughter of two people who were among the most powerful in that era, so naturally she had very sharp eyes. Observing how swift and agile He ZuDao's movement, she was sure that his kung fu was very different from the ones found in China.

Meanwhile, after attacking with 20 moves in vain, suddenly Wei TianWang uttered a roaring sound and chnaged his kung fu. If previously his attack was very fast, now his movement was slower, but accompanied by great strength. After he attacked a few moves, Guo Xiang,a who was also in the pavillion, could also feel very strong force blowing around dangerously, so hurriedly she jumped outside.

He ZuDao quickly changed his attitude. Now he did not dare to take his opponent for granted anymore. After slipping Guo Xiang's sword on his waist, he stood straight as if his body were a mountain that could not be moved.
"So you're using external strength, huh?" he asked. "Do you think I can't handle it?"
At the exact moment Wei TianWang's hands plunged toward him, he concentrated on his internal strength and accepted the blow with his left hand. Force meeting force! "Bang", both hands clashed forcefully. Wei TianWang's body shook and he staggered 2-3 steps backward, while He ZuDao's feet remained straight unmoving.

Wei TianWang, who had always thought that his own Gwa-kang (External Strength) was unbeatable, could not accept this defeat, so once again, with a thundering shout, he launched another blow with both hands. He ZuDao also gave a loud yell and accepted the opponent's blow with only one hand. "BANG!" both hands clashed again, this time with such an enormous force that dust and sand came pouring down from the hole on the roof.
At the time of the clash, Wei TianWang's body swayed and it was after he staggered 4-5 steps backward that he could finally stand up straight again.

After being defeated twice, Wei TianWang's eyes turned red. With his hair coming loose, and his eyes bulging out of their sockets, he looked very scary. With both his hands on his stomach, he took a deep breath. Soon his chest sunked in, his stomach swelled out resembling a drum, and his bones made cracking sounds. In this very scary condition, he walked step by step toward his opponent.
Looking at him, He ZuDao realized that his opponent would soon attack using all power he had of his kung fu and his internal strength. He did not dare to take it easy, so immediately he took a deep breath to accumulate his internal strength.

Normally, after collecting such a great internal force, Wei TianWang would launch his attack from about 4-5 feet. But now he did not do that. Slowly, he kept on approaching until very near to his opponent. After that, his two hands moved, one hitting the face, and the other aiming the waist. The purpose of the two blows was to disperse all of He ZuDao's internal strength.

He Zu Dao quickly accepted the blows using both hands. Left hand meeting left hand, and right hand meeting right hand. But in both hands, he was using different forces, one was strong (yang), and the other soft (yin). This way, Wei TianWang's hand that hit his waist felt as if he was hitting a piece of soft cotton, while the left hand that hit his face felt as if he was hitting an iron wall.
"Oh no!" Wei TianWang groaned. At the same time, he felt a very strong force pushing him so within a second his body was jolted out of the pavillion.
This is the result of force meeting force; and the one with the lesser strength will surely be injured. Hit by his own force that reflected back to himself in addition to He ZuDao's huge force, Wei TianWang would surely cough up blood.

But at that critical moment, just a second before he would fall down, suddenly Pan TianGeng and Fang TianLao yelled: "Strike now!". Simultaneously they pushed forward with both hands and the force that came out from their hands formed a kind of an invisible "Yin" (soft) wall. Wei TianWang's back leaned on this invisible wall and he was saved from having to suffer a serious internal injury. However, his insides suffered a great shock, all his bones felt as if broken to pieces, and he felt severe pain all over his body.

Seeing how his martial brother was defeated so pathetically, Fang TianLao was infuriated, but he remained smiling. "The internal strength of your hand was so unmatchable in the realm of martial arts," he said. "I feel awed."
Hearing what he said, Guo Xiang laughed secretly to herself. "The Three Saints of Kun Lun are like frogs under a stone, so ignorant. For internal strength of the hands, who can match my father's Xiang Long Shi Ba Zhang (18 Dragon-Subduing Blows)?"

After being silent for a while, while giggling the red face said again: "I the old man do not have any worthy kung fu, so now i would like to ask you for a few lesson in your swordmanship."
"Brother Fang has treated Miss Guo nicely, so I don't bear any grudge towards you," he replied. "I think there is no need for us to test our kung fu."
Guo Xiang was surprised to hear this. "So he gave Wei TianWang a harsh lesson because he was very rude to me," she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, ignoring He ZuDao's refusal to fight, Fang TianLao went to his horse and took out a long sword from the knapsack. "Srrrt!" he pulled it out and his expression turned serious. While sticking his left hand straight forward, he raised the sword and pointed it upward. This move was called Sian-jin-tit-louw (An Immortal Giving Direction).
He ZuDao smiled and said: "If Brother Fang wants to fight too, let me try several moves using Miss Guo's sword.". Then he pulled out the broken sword from his waist. That sword was originally short, its length no longer than 50-60 cm. After being broken by Wei TianWang, it became even shorter, not longer than an ordinary blade.

Holding the scabbard in his left hand, without uttering a word anymore, he launched 3 very fast attacks. But because the sword was too short, those attacks missed the target.
Fang TianLao was startled. "How fast he is!" he thought. "What sword style is that? If he was using a long sword, I might have been dead by now."

On the other hand, after attacking 3 times consecutively, He ZuDao jumped aside and stood straight. He just dodged and evaded when Fang TianLao counter-attacked him. Suddenly, while being attacked fiercely, again he thrusted 3 times consecutively and swiftly that his opponent's sword style became disordered. Soon after that, again he jumped to the side and stopped attacking. Feeling that he was being made fun of, Fang TianLao became very angry. Making a loud yell, he lunged forward while whirling his sword which soon flashed about like lightnings. His short and skinny body was as if enclosed by the gleams of lights coming out from the sword, which whirled and swirled very swiftly.

[Kirara]

Thank you, Temujin.
Having a bit problem here.
My books do not have chapters and parts!
It just goes on and on.

[Kirara]

post #11
The battle became faster and faster in tempo, so that it was hard to see their movements clearly. Suddenly He ZuDao yelled: "Watch out!" And almost at the same time, the scabbard in his left hand thrust forward. "Trang!" That scabbard enclosed the opponent's sword while at the same time the broken sword thrust at Fang TianLao's throat.
Although his kung fu was very good, the red face could not parry the coming sword because his own sword was trapped . But being an expert with a good kung fu, he did not become frantic. He quickly let go of his sword and leaning his head to his side, he threw himself to the ground and rolled himself away.

But before Fang Tian Lao could jump up again, suddenly a figure darted in, and in a flash Pan TianGeng's hand was holding the sword which was dropped by his martial younger brother. With one swift movement, he pulled the sword out from the scabbard of the broken sword in He ZuDao's hand.
"Very beautiful movement!" praised He ZuDao and Guo Xiang almost simultaneously.
It turned out that the old man, who had the yellowish face as if he were sickly, and never uttered a single word, was the one having the highest kung fu among the the three.

"I am awed by your kung fu," said He ZuDao while bowing. Then he turned around to Guo Xiang and said: "Miss Guo, after listening to your song a few days ago, I have composed a new song for you and I want you to give me your opinion about it."
"What kind of song?" asked the girl.
Without paying any attention to the three old men, he sat crossed-legged on the ground, put his zither onto his lap and adjusted its strings.

Seeing this, Pan TianGeng came up to him and said: "Sir, you have defeated my two martial younger brothers, and now I would like learn a few lessons from you."
He ZuDao shook his head several times.. "No. It was enough," he said. "Kung fu battles do not give much pleasure. Now I want to play the zither for Miss Guo. This song is a new song. If you like, all of you may sit down and listen. If you don't wish to listen, you are free to go."
After saying this, his fingers began to play the instrument.

After listening for some time, Guo Xiang felt surprised and happy. Since she learned to play the zither until now, she had never heard such an extraordinary song. Extraordinary, because the song was a mixture of Ko-phoa song, which he had ever played several days ago, and Kian Kee song (a name of a grass). The two songs were in fact very far different from each other, but they were changed in such a way that the mixture became a new song which was very beautiful and harmonious.

Part of the lyrics of the song said:

"The lone hermit,
Is wandering in the mountains.
The green green Kian-kee grass,
The dew transformed into snow.
And she,
Is at a corner of the world....."

Listening until this part, the girl's heart beat faster.
"Who is this "she"?" she asked herself silently. "Does he mean me? Why is the zither's sound so beautiful and sad?"
Thinking about this, she blushed.
She also felt great admiration because although the two songs Ko-phoa and Kian-kee were mixed into a new song, each was still able to retain its own personality.

Pan TianGeng and his two martial younger brothers knew nothing about music, so they became very much piqued. He ZuDao's action of continuing picking the zither's strings without paying any attention to them was a big insult to them.
After listening for a moment, Pan TianGeng could not restrain himself anymore. He came forward while poking He ZuDao's left shoulder with the sword's tip and shouted: "Get up, you! Let's try our kung fu!"

[Kirara]

post #12
He ZuDao was concentrating on his musical instrument, unaware of that challenge to fight. He was dreaming as if he was wandering in a beautiful mountain and from afar he could see a beautiful girl standing on a small island surrounded by water....
Suddenly he felt pain on his left shoulder and he was jolted back to reality. He raised his head and saw Pan TianGeng standing near him with a sword in his hand, poking it into his shoulder. He realized that if he did not fight him, he might lose his life. But he felt what a pity that he had not yet finished his song. As a real musician, he was not willing to end his song half way.

So with his left hand he used the broken sword to parry Pan TianGeng's weapon, while his right hand continued playing the zither!
With both eyes still paying attention to his zither, He ZuDao parried every attack by his opponent. This made Pan TianGeng more furious so he attacked more fiercely. But wherever his sword aimed at, He ZuDao could always ward it off.

Guo Xiang was enchanted by the music, so she was not paying attention to the attacks. But she felt annoyed by the sound of the two swords clashing, so she yelled: "Hey! Are you deaf to the beauty of this song? Don't disrupt it! Try to attack in rhythm with the claps of my hands, so that they will be in accord with the song."

Of course Pan TianGeng ignored her request. With a loud shout, he changed his sword style and now his attacks coming fast like hail, so the sound of sword clashing became more frequent and the song more disrupted.
He ZuDao became annoyed too, so while adding his internal strength, he parried a coming thrust. "Trang!" Pan TianGeng's sword broke into two! At the same time, the 5th string of his Cit-hian-kim (zither with 7 strings) also snapped and broke.

Pan TianGeng's face became as pale as a corpse. Without uttering any more words, he leapt out of the stone pavillion, and then with his two martial younger brothers, he jumped on his horse and the 3 of them rode away quickly up the mountain.

Guo Xiang felt perplexed. "Eh!" she thought. "Why did they run towards the Temple?". Then she turned her head and saw that He ZuDao was holding the broken string with a sad expression on his face. "Why is he so sad?" she asked herself silently. "How expensive could a zither's string be?"

He ZuDao took a long sigh and said in a low voice: "I have practised for 7 years, but I am still unable to concentrate well. My left hand could break that sword, but my right hand broke the zither's string."
Now the girl understood, that he was sad because his skill had not reached perfection yet. She laughed and said: With your left hand fighting the enemy and your right hand playing the zither, actually you were using Hun-sin-Ji-yong (Mind-Dividing Kung Fu). In this realm, only 3 people know how to do it well. You don't have to feel vexed that you have not reached perfection yet."

"Who are those 3 people?", asked He ZuDao.
"The first one is Lo-boan-thong (The Old Imp) Zhou Bo Tong," she replied. "The second one is my own father, while the third one is Mrs. Yang, Xiao LungNu. No other people can play that amazing skill, not even my Grandfather, mother, and The Condor Hero Yang Guo."
"Could you please introduce me to those amazing people?" asked He ZuDao.
"If you want to meet Father, that is very easy," she replied. "But to meet the other two is difficult, because they don't have a permanent place to stay."

He ZuDao stood looking lost, as if he still regretted the breaking of the zither's string. Guo Xiang laughed and said in a comforting tone: "With just one move you had defeated The Three Saints of Kun Lun and that is something you can be proud of. Why fret over such a small matter like a broken string?"

He ZuDao looked startled. "The Three Saints of Kun Lun"? he asked. "What did you say? How do you know?"
"Aren't those 3 old men the ones known as The Three Saints of Kun Lun?" she asked. "Their kung fu is good enough, but to fight Shaolin Temple, I think they are too arrogant...." Seeing He ZuDao's face becoming more perplexed, the girl then asked: Why are you looking so puzzled?"

"The Three Saints of Kun Lun.....Kun-lun Sam-Seng He ZuDao...that's me." he said slowly.
Now it was Guo Xiang's turn to feel puzzled. "You...you are The Three Saints of Kun Lun?" she asked. "So where are the other two?"

"The Three Saints of Kun Lun is just one person," he replied. "In the Western border I obtained a reputation, although not a big reputation. My friends there think that I have a good skill in playing the zither, in martial arts, and in playing chess (wei-qi), so according to the them, I should be called Khim-seng, Kiam-seng, and Ki-Seng (Saint of the zither, Saint of the sword, and Saint of the chess). Because I like to stay in Mount Kun Lun, then they called me The Three Saints of Kun Lun. But I felt embarrassed by the use of 'Saint' in the title. How can a person like me put myself in par with a real Saint? So I changed my name. Now I am using He ZuDao (Unworthy To Be Talked About) as my name, so that if it is combined with The Three Saints of Kun Lun, it will read The Three Saints of Kun Lun Unworthy To Be Talked About. That way, nobody can say that I am an arrogant man."

The girl clapped her hands and giggled. "Oh is that it?" she said. "I've always thought that The Three Saints of Kun Lun consists of 3 persons. But then who are those 3 old men?"
"They? They are people from Shaolin Clan," he replied.
"Guo Xiang was shocked. "Shaolin Clan?" She asked. "Hmph!...Their kung fu is quite good....right! The sword style of the old man with the red face is DaMo Sword Technique. No mistake! And the old man with the sickly face did attack me using Wei-duo Hok-mo-kiam ( Demon-Subdueing Swordmanship.). I couldn't recognize it earlier, because it contained so many changes. But...but why did they say they've just arrived from the Western borders?"

"There is a reason to that," replied He Zu Dao. "In spring last year, I was playing the zither in Mount Kun Lun. Suddenly I heard the sound of fighting outside my hut. I went out hurriedly and saw two persons, each of them already seriously wounded, and they were fighting fiercely for their life. I yelled at them asking them to stop fighting, but they ignored me. Because I felt sorry seeing their condition, I quickly set them apart. But as soon as I set them apart, one of them turned his eyes over and died. The other one was still alive, so I carried him into my hut and tried to save his life by giving him Siauw-yang-tan pill. But because his injury was so serious, my medicine failed to save him. Before he died, he introduced himself as Yin KeXi...."

[Kirara]

post #13
"Ah?" the girl called out. "The other one must be Xiao XiangZi. Doesn't the one who died earlier have a tall and thin body with a face that looked like a corpse?"
"Right," he replied. "How did you know?"
"I have ever met them," the girl laughed and replied. "I never thought that those two living gems perished killing each other."
He ZuDao sighed and added: "Before he died, Yin KeXi said that in his life, he had done a lot of evil deeds and that now he regretted it, but it was already too late. He also said that together with Xiao XiangZi, he had stolen a Sacred Book from Shaolin Temple.
After possessing the book, they became suspicious of each other. Each of them was worried in case the other would succeed in understanding the book earlier and thus could improve his kung fu and then killed the weaker one in order to monopolize the book. So they began to keep watch over each other and never separate. They ate at the same table and slept in the same bed. When they were eating, they were worried the other would put poison in their food, and when they were sleeping, they were worried the other would kill him while he was asleep. In addition to that, they were also worried the Shaolin monks could catcth them. They fled to the Western border. After arriving at Peak JingShen, they were already very exhausted. They realized that if kept on living like that, within 10 days they might die from exhaustion. So they they became desperate and decided to just fight each other to end the crazy situation. Yin KeXi said that in fact Xiao XiangZi's kung fu was much better than his. He did not understand how come when fighting, Xiao XiangZi's kung fu was just a bit better than his own. Later he realized that the friend who had turned enemy was already injured at Mount Hua. If they had not been suspicious of each other, they would not have went up Mount Kun Lun."

Hearing this story, Guo Xiang was saddened. She sighed and said: "Ai! Just because of a book, they lost their lives. How valuable is that book?"
He ZuDao nodded and the continued: "Yin KeXi talked while having difficulty breathing. Lastly he asked me to go to Shaolin Temple to meet a monk called JueYuan. He said that the Sacred Book was in the oil. I became puzzled. Why in the oil? But before I could ask him for further explanation, he couldn't bear it anymore and fainted. He never woke up anymore. After he died, I kept on thinking about the meaning of his words. In the oil? Did he meant that the book was wrapped in oil cloth? I searched their bodies carefully, but I could not find the book. I have accepted his request, I could not betray it. Considering that I had never been to China, I made up my mind to take this chance to go to Shaolin Temple , part of it to carry out the promise, and part of it to enjoy the sceneries."

"But why did you send that letter of challenge?" asked Guo Xiang.
He ZuDao smiled and replied: "It was because of those 3 men. The three of them are pupils of Shaolin who do not shave their heads. According to the kung fu experts in the Western borders, their status is "tian" and of the same status with the Head of Shaolin Temple Great Abbot TianMing. People guessed that the Teacher of their Teacher had a big dispute with his martial brothers in the Shaolin Temple and as a result of the fight, he left to the Western border and founded a branch of Shaolin Clan there. This matter is not a strange thing. The martial arts of Shaolin Temple itself was brought by Reverend DaMo from India to China. Now from China it was brought to the Western border. It is not a strange thing, is it?"
"Learning about my title as The Three Saints of Kun Lun, the three became annoyed. They announced arrogantly that they would like to try my kung fu. They did not mind about my two names as Saint of the zither and Saint of the chess. But Saint of the sword.? Ha! They couldn't accept it!"
"Coincidentally, I had this incident with Yin KeXi. That's why I decided to go to Shaolin Temple, while at the same time I could also try their kung fu. Before arriving in China, I had deliberately avoided those three. I never thought they would arrive so early."

"Is that so?" asked Guo Xiang. "So all my guesses are incorrect. Now those three men must have arrived at Shaolin Temple. I wonder what they would be telling them!"
"I don't bear any grudge with the Shaolin monks," said He ZuDao. "That's why, to wait for the arrival of the three men, I wrote that I would come 10 days later. Now, the battle is over with them, so everything is settled now. Let's go up there. After I conveyed Yin KeXi's message, we can go down again."

The girl frowned. "Those Shaolin monks has a very strict rule, namely women are not allowed to enter the monastery."
"Phooey! What kind of rule is that?" said He ZuDao. "What do you think if we just go in?"
Actually Guo Xiang was a courageous girl who like to meddle into things. But because she felt embarrassed to Great Monk Wuse if she did such a thing, she shook her head and said: "No. I will wait outside the Temple, you can go in by yourself, so that we won't create any trouble."
"All right," said He ZuDao. "I have not finished my song earlier. As soon as I return, I will play it again."

End of Chapter 1

[Kirara]

CHAPTER 2

post #14

Slowly they climbed up the mountain, but when finally they arrived at the gate, they did not see anyone around. "Oh well, I don't need to go in either," he said. "Let me call that monk." After saying that, he quickly called out loudly: "He ZuDao came to Shaolin Temple, to convey a message to Great Monk JueYuan!"

Suddenly, almost at the same time with his shout, more then ten large bells inside the monastery tolled simultaneously, the ground seemed to tremble as if Mount ShaoShi was quaking.
Soon the gate of the monastery opened, and from the right and left, two rows of gray-robed monks walked out. Each row consisted of 54 monks from Luo-han Hall, and their number was in accordance with the 108 Luo-han. After them, 18 monks wearing yellow robes walked out. They are disciples of the DaMo Hall, and their status was higher than the one of Luo-han Hall. After a while, 7 elderly monks came out. They were the Seven Elders from Sim-sian Hall (Meditation Hall), and their position is very high. Some of them had very powerful kung fu, but some others did not know any kung fu, and they were in Sim-sian Hall because of their deep knowledge in Buddhism. They were even more respected than the Head of Shaolin Temple himself.

And last, The Head of Shaolin Temple the Great Abbot TianMing came out with the Head of DaMo Hall Reverend WuXiang and the Head of Luo-han Hall Reverend Wuse on his right and left side. Pan TianGeng, Fang TianLao and Wei TianWang followed behind them, along with about 80 disciples of Shaolin Temple who did not shave their heads to become monks.

This is an extremely great welcoming ceremony and it was never, if not very rare, to be given to a guest. Usually, even a high-ranking government official, or an eminent master from the realm of martial arts, would be welcomed by at most the Great Abbot, Wuse, and Wuxiang. As far as people could remember, the Seven Elders from Sim-sian Hall had never showed up to welcome a guest.

Why did they give such a ceremonious big welcome now?
The main reason was that He ZuDao, without anybody noticing it, had sneaked that letter of challenge in the hand of the Hang-long Luo-han statue's hand. This amazing ability had shocked the leaders of Shaolin Temple. Besides, Pan TianGeng and his two martial younger brothers had arrived earlier and told them about Kun-Lun Sam-seng's fantastic kung fu, so Shaolin Temple's leaders became more cautious.

Because its location was very far, the Shaolin Clan at the Western border seldom had contact with the Shaolin Clan at Tiong-ciu , namely the Shaolin Temple at Mount ShaoShi. But those monks knew, that their martial grand-uncle who had gone to the West was someone who possessed very great kung fu, so his pupils and grand-pupils couldn't be just ordinary kung fu experts. That's why after hearing Pan TianGeng's and his 2 brothers' story, the leaders of Shaolin Temple made a prompt action; and the Great Abbot ordered that all Shaolin's disciples, including monks and ordinary people living within 250 km radius of Shaolin Temple must quickly go to the Temple to wait for further orders.

At first those monks thought that The Three Saints of Kun Lun consisted of 3 persons. But after listening to Pan TianGeng's explanation, they realized that The Three Saints of Kun Lun was a mere one person and that he obtained the title because he was so good at three skills, namely the zither, sword, and chess. They did not care about him being good at the zither and chess. They just needed to battle his swordmanship. Therefore, after knowing about this, Shaolin's sword experts had practised harder day and night.

Meanwhile, because they thought that this trouble with The Three Saints of Kun Lun originated from them, Pan TianGeng and his two martial brothers wanted to end the matter with their own hands. In order to meet him, they rode their horses around the mountain everyday. They were eager to try the opponent's kung fu outside the monastery, and then to return to the monastery and let The Three Saints of Kun Lun continue to fight the monks. That way, they thought, they would be able to judge which was more powerful, the kung fu of Shaolin at the Western border, or the kung fu of Shaolin at Tiong-ciu (at Mount Shaoshi).
But beyond their expectation, they were so easily defeated by He ZuDao in that stone pavillion.

As soon as they heard the news about this defeat of Pan TianGeng and his two brothers, Great Abbot TianMing realized that today was a critical day that would decide Shaolin Temple's reputation. No matter what, the title "the center of all martial arts in the realm" which had been retained for thousands of years must not crumble in his leadership. But at the moment, he felt a bit worried, because he felt that his own kung fu, Wuxiang's and Wuse's kung fu were not that far superior than Pan TianGeng and his two brothers. That's why he had to also ask the Seven Elders from Sim-sian Hall to come out too, so that they would be able to aid in case of urgency, But he, Wuse and Wuxiang themselves did not know exactly how powerful the kung fu of the Seven Elders were. So it was still a mere speculation whether the Seven Elders could help Shaolin Temple's reputation in the face of danger.

As soon as he arrived in front of He ZuDao and Guo Xiang, TianMing brought his hands together and said: "May I know if Mister is The saint of the zither, the sword and the chess? This old monk could not welcome you earlier, I hope Mister can forgive me."
He ZuDao immediately returned the gesture of respect by bowing. "I the worthless am feeling so bad for creating a stir in in your respected Temple, and I really do not deserve such a grand welcome."

Listening to this, TianMing thought: "His words are modest and polite. Judging from his face, he is just about 30 years old. Is it true that he has such a high skill of kung fu?" Thinking this, he said: "Mr. He, please don't be too modest. Let's step inside to drink cool tea . And this Miss....." He did not continue his sentence and his face showed hesitancy.

Seeing the monk was about to reject Guo Xiang, He ZuDao laughed loudly.
"Great Abbot," he said. "I came here because I accepted a request made by someone to convey a message. After I convey the message, I will immediately leave. But I really don't understand the rule in this temple which looking up to men but looking down upon women. We know that the knowldege of The Buddha has no bound, and that all creatures are equal. Therefore in my humble opinion, this rule is rather contrary to the teachings of The Buddha."

[Kirara]

post #15
Great Abbot TianMing was a monk with a deep knowledge and a broad mind. He could quickly differentiate what was right and what was wrong. Hearing what He ZuDao said, he quickly smiled and said: "Thank you for your advice, Mister. That rule is indeed a bit narrow-minded. So I also invite Miss to join us drinking tea."
Guo Xiang glanced at her friend and smiled, in her heart she praised her friend's sharp tongue.

TianMing immediately stepped aside and raised his hand as an inviting gesture for the two guests to enter the Temple. But before He ZuDao could step in, suddenly from TianMing's left came out a monk with a skinny body.
"With just a few words, you have abolished Shaolin's rule that has been here for thousands of years." he said. "It is not that the rule may not be changed, but we must first check whether the person changing it really has an excellent kung fu. Because of this, I hope Mister He is willing to give a few lessons so that we monks can open our eyes and won't think it unjustifiable anymore, knowing that the person who changes the rule is really someone having unbeatable kung fu."
This monk, Wuxiang, said it with a voice extremely loud that people who heard it felt pain in their ears, as a result of having to receive pressure from a great internal strength.

Hearing what Wuxiang said, the expressions of Pan TianGeng and his two brothers changed. They felt as if they were being mocked, that they had been defeated by someone whose kung fu level was still uncertain.

Meanwhile, when Guo Jiang glanced at Wuse, she could see that his face expression looked worried and annoyed. "Great Monk Wuse is a good person and besides, he is big brother Yang's good friend," she thought. "If He ZuDao and the Shaolin monks really battled, no matter who will win, I will feel bad." Thinking like that, she said loudly: "Big brother He, in fact I don't need to enter the temple. Please convey your message, and after that, we can leave." Then she pointed at Great Monk Wuse and continued: "He is Reverend Wuse, my good friend. Both sides, please don't break the peace."

He ZuDao looked surprised. "Oh, is that so?" he said while turning his head towards TianMing, and then added: "Great Abbot, which one is Reverend JueYuan? I had accepted someone's request to deliver a message to him"
"Reverend JueYuan?" Tian Ming asked in a low voice.

In Shaolin Temple, JueYuan had a low ranking status, and for tens of years he hid himself in the Cong-keng-kok library. He was not much known by people, and so far, no one has ever used "Reverend" behind his name. So for a moment, TianMing could not remember who this "Reverend JueYuan" was. After being confused for a while, he could recall the name and said: "Ah! Mister He must mean the monk who was in charge of Leng Ga Sutra (Leng Qie Jing). Does Mister He want to see him concerning the lost of the book?"
"I have no idea," he replied while shaking his head.

TianMing quickly turned around and said to a pupil: "Call JueYuan here." The pupil quickly went to do as he was ordered.

[Temujin]

Originally posted by Kirara
Thank you, Temujin.
Having a bit problem here.
My books do not have chapters and parts!
It just goes on and on.

I thought the Indonesian version of HSDS breaks it down into small books (I'm not sure how many books they are in total, maybe 80 or something) ?

Why don't you just break it by the book sequences (refer to the Indonesian translation at indonesia.spcnet.tv).

I think it would be too confusing and time-consuming to match it with the Chinese version which breaks it down into 40 chapters (4 books) if you don't know how to read Chinese and none has been fully translated yet, unless someone here can help with the exact ending in every chapter from the Chinese version.

Or if your source (which book/novel version is it ?) does not break it down into chapters, maybe you can break it down by the major scenes like...

Guo Xiang's story
The Dragon Sabre appears (Zhang Cuisan and Yin Susu story)
The Fire Ice Island
The reunion at Wu Dang (The Tragedy at Wu Dang)
The trip to heal Wu Ji
The Weird Doctor (The Heaven Sword appears)
Learning 9 Yang Manual
and so on.....

But anyway, very good job so far... and you're going at a lightning speed too... If you keep it up, you will be able to catch up with the current second-revision translation by the end of September and maybe (if you are determined enough and don't get exhausted) you can finish the whole novel by the end of the year.

Again.. Awesome job !!!!!!!!!

[Kirara]

post #16
Eager to fight, Reverend Wuxiang could not hold his patience anymore. As soon as he saw a chance, he quickly said: "Mister He, people named you The Saints of the zither, the sword and the chess, and no ordinary people people can obtain the title 'Saint' easily. So no doubt you must possess extraordinary abilities in those three fields. Ten days ago, you have written a letter that you would show your skill. But why after you arrived here, you became so stingy and reluctant to give us a few lessons?"

He ZuDao shook his head. "This Miss already said that both sides should not break the peace."
Wuxiang became very angry. Mostly he was angry because He ZuDao had dared to challenge first and he regarded this challenge as a disrespect towards Shaolin Temple. Besides, he was also angry because Pan TianGeng and his two martial brothers had been defeated, and so people might widespread the story that Shaolin pupils had been defeated by The Saint of the sword. But he was also certain that most of Shaolin disciples could not match He ZuDao, so he immediately decided to fight him himself. He took two steps forward and said: "Trying each other's kung fu does not necessarily mean it will break the peace. Why do you refuse so vehemently?" He turned to one of his pupils and ordered: "Take some swords out!"

In the monastey, there are various weapons available, but when welcoming a guest, the monks felt it was inappropriate to carry any weapon. Soon the pupil returned with 7-8 swords and handed them to He ZuDao. "Does Mister carry your own weapon or wish to borrow ours?" he asked.

Instead of picking up any of the weapons offered to him, He ZuDao bent his body and picked up a small rock . Suddenly with this small rock he carved 9 vertical and 9 horizontal lines into the green stone which covered the path to Shaolin Temple. Each line was very straight, as if made using a ruler. But what's startling was that each line went in so deeply into the green stone! That green stone was a Mount ShaoShi stone which was as hard as iron. Hundreds of years people stepped back and forth walking on it but it had not been damaged one bit.

After carving the lines forming a chessboard, He ZuDao laughed and said: "It is a bit too violent to duel using the swords, and it is also hard to duel using zither sound. Therefore, if the Great Monk likes, let's play chess."

What He ZuDao showed had startled TianMing, Wuse, Wuxiang, and the Seven Elders from Sim-sian Hall. TianMing was sure that no one in Shaolin Temple had such a big Internal Strength kung fu. He became very confused, but while he was considering to admit defeat, suddenly a cling-clang sounds of iron chains were heard and soon afterwards, JueYuan appeared carrying his two water pails on his shoulder, whereas behind him, a tall young man followed. Arriving in front of TianMing, he paid his respect and asked: "Did The Great Abbot summon me?"
"Mister He wants to see and talk with you," he replied.

JueYuan turned around and felt puzzled, because he did not know who He ZuDao was.
"My name is JueYuan," he introduced himself. "What does Mister want to talk with me about?"

After carving the chessboard, He ZuDao felt eager to play. "I will tell you in a moment," he replied. "Which Great Monk would be willing to play chess with me?"
He ZuDao was someone who really loved the zither, the sword and chess. Whenever he was in the mood to play, he would set aside anything else.
"I have never seen such an amazing skill like your carving a chessboard on the green stone," said TianMing. "None of the monks from our Temple can match you in this skill."

Hearing what TianMing said and seeing the chessboard, JueYuan realized that He ZuDao came to Shaolin to show his skill off. Without uttering any word, he picked up his two pails again, while taking a deep breath to direct all his Internal Strength Kung Fu to his two knees. Then, step by step, he walked to one side of the chessboard.

Everybody was surprised and they watched JueYuan's action with eyes opened wide. Why?
It turned out that the chains on his feet had created a lot of deep lines along the way as he walked, and those deep lines had completely destroyed the chessboard lines previously made by He ZuDao! Seeing this, within a moment all the monks shouted and cheered happily.

TianMing, Wuse, Wuxiang and the other leaders were startled and delighted at the same time. They never dreamed that the stupid-looking old monk had such a big Internal Strength. They had lived with him in the same monastery for tens of years but nobody knew of his skill.

Actually, even if one had an amazingly strong Internal Strength, it was still impossible for him to make such deep lines on the hard green stone as the ones made by JueYuan. But since he was carrying two very heavy pails totalling no less than 300 kg, he could use this weight by passing the force from his shoulder to the chain on his feet, so that when he walked, the chain was dragged along as if a plough, and ploughing the lines of the chessboard. However, even if JueYuan had borrowed the weight of his pails to do that, it was still something very rare to be seen in the realm of martial arts.

"Big Monk!" yelled He ZuDao. "Your Internal Strength is really very powerful and I cannot match it!"
Jue Yuan stopped walking and looked at the guest, smiling.
"Big Monk," said He ZuDao again. "We cannot play chess anymore, and I admit defeat. Now I would like to ask you a few lessons in swordmanship."
At the same time, he pulled out a long sword from below his zither. He quickly attacked and his first move was really extraordinary, namely the tip of the sword was pointing at his own chest, while its handle was pointing at the opponent. Everybody was puzzled because they had never seen such a weird sword style in the realm.

"I the old monk could only read the scriptures, meditate, sun the books in the sun, and sweep the floor," said JueYuan. "As for kung fu, I know nothing at all."
Of course He ZuDao could not believe it. Laughing coldly, with a very fast movement, the tip of his sword turned direction and now it thrust forward towards the monk's chest. Actually, in his first move when he pointed the tip of the sword to his own chest, he was accumulating his Internal Strength, and then all of a sudden he would turn it over and attacked using Internal Strength.

If He ZuDao was fighting with an ordinary opponent, he would certainly have succeeded. But JueYuan's Internal Strength had achieved a level where, each movement came naturally, following the awareness and thought in the brain. Because of this, although the sword came as fast as a lightning, the monk's brain was faster than the sword. At the exact moment, one of the pails jumped up and "tang!", the sword hit the pail which sunked in as if a crescent moon. Hurriedly He ZuDao pulled his sword back, while his left hand swept at his opponent's face. Just like before, the other pail jumped up and his hand was jolted aside.

He was shocked and annoyed. he was certain the two iron pails would not be able to fend off his sword if he attacked very quickly. Thinking this way, he yelled: "Big Monk! Watch out this time!". His sword quivered and like a flash of lightnings, he launched 16 consecutive thrusts.
"Tang-tang-tang-tang-tang........" 16 clashing sounds were heard.
Cap-lak-chiu Sun-lui-kiam (Lightning Sword Ataccked 16 Times) hit the iron pails!

Seeing how JueYuan looked frantic and confused when being attacked, everybody believed that he really did not know any kung fu.
So when He ZuDao began to attack, everybody became worried. "Mister He, please don't be too harsh!" Wuse and Wuxiang shouted almost simultaneously.
"Big Brother He, don't hurt him!" shouted Guo Xiang.
But astonishingly, using his own unusual ways that did not conform to kung fu techniques, JueYuan raised his pails back and forth and all the thrusts ended up on the water pails.

While the others could see that the monk did not know kung fu techniques, He ZuDao, who was very annoyed that his attacks failed, did not realize even a bit that his opponent fended off his attacks naturally due to his high Internal Strength. Therefore, finding his Sun-lui-kiam failed, with a loud yell he thrusted his sword at JueYuan's stomach.
"Oh My!!" shouted the monk, who frantically brought his hands, with the pails and all, together. A loud sound was heard soon after, the sound of iron clashing, and He ZuDao's sword was clapped between the two iron pails! Hurriedly he used his Internal Strength to pull out his weapon, but no use, the sword did not move an inch. Fast like a lightning, his left hand hit the opponent's face.

Everyone was startled. JueYuan was holding the two iron pails and he couldn't evade anymore. At that dangerous moment, suddenly Zhang JunBao leapt forward and hit He ZuDao's shoulder using Su-thong Pat-ta (Four Penetrate Eight Deliver) which he learned from Yang Guo. At the same time, JueYuan's Internal Strength passed into the iron pails and suddenly a pair of water streams spouted out of the two pails and shot towards He ZuDao's face, so his blow was warded off by the streams of water and both of them became wet all over.

[Kirara]

Originally posted by Temujin
I thought the Indonesian version of HSDS breaks it down into small books (I'm not sure how many books they are in total, maybe 80 or something) ?

Why don't you just break it by the book sequences (refer to the Indonesian translation at indonesia.spcnet.tv).

Yes I was thinking of doing that, but I am worried in case it will stop halfway (I hope not), I will be stuck.

I think it would be too confusing and time-consuming to match it with the Chinese version which breaks it down into 40 chapters (4 books) if you don't know how to read Chinese and none has been fully translated yet, unless someone here can help with the exact ending in every chapter from the Chinese version.

Yes if there is someone who can help with this, that would be best, but I know people are busy and have many other things to do.

Or if your source (which book/novel version is it ?) does not break it down into chapters, maybe you can break it down by the major scenes like...

Guo Xiang's story
The Dragon Sabre appears (Zhang Cuisan and Yin Susu story)
The Fire Ice Island
The reunion at Wu Dang (The Tragedy at Wu Dang)
The trip to heal Wu Ji
The Weird Doctor (The Heaven Sword appears)
Learning 9 Yang Manual
and so on.....

My source of HSDS translated by BBT/OKT was published in 1993 and I bought it from a small bookshop, they were just leftover so they were not complete, and I am not sure I can find the rest of this publication, I have only until Book 17, when Wuji and Zhi Ruo was engaged in marriage. If I can ever catch up with the Indonesian one at indonesia.spcnet, I will have to wait until the next chapter was posted there first before I can translate here, unless I switch to my books translated by Gan KL. as my source (I have the complete set)

Yes maybe I will take your suggestion here, it is the safest and less time consuming for me. I can just break it up according to major change of scenes.
Thank you, Temujin.

But anyway, very good job so far... and you're going at a lightning speed too... If you keep it up, you will be able to catch up with the current second-revision translation by the end of September and maybe (if you are determined enough and don't get exhausted) you can finish the whole novel by the end of the year.

Again.. Awesome job !!!!!!!!!

Thanks again, actually I am determined to finish until the end by updating everyday. I hope I won't be too exhausted.

[Kirara]

post #17
Because his right hand was holding the sword that we being clapped by the 2 water pails whereas his left hand intersected the 2 water streams, He ZuDao could not evade or parry Zhang JunBao's blow. "Buk!" the blow hit his shoulder. Once again everyone was surprised because they could see that Zhang JunBao, though looking so young with a baby-face, had an Internal Strength that was powerful enough to make He ZuDao's body staggering backward for a few steps.
"Amitabha!" shouted JueYuan. "Mister He, please spare me! Your sword thrusts are so scary!." After saying this, he wiped his face from water and sweat and retreated to the side.

Now He ZuDao became very angry. "I heard that in Shaolin Temple there are a lot of excellent kung fu experts, and I saw that it is true," he said with a vexed tone. "Even a young kid has such a high level of kung fu. Kid! Let's try a few moves! If you could resist me in 10 moves, He Zu Dao won't return to China for as long as he lives."

Wuse, Wuxiang and the others know that Zhang JunBao was a servant from Cong-keng-kok Library and so far he had never learned kung fu. Somehow, accidentally he succeeded to give He ZuDao a blow. But they were sure that if they really fought seriously, the young man would be killed in just one move by the opponent.
"Mister He, you are wrong," said Wuxiang. "Your title is The Three Saints of Kun Lun and your kung fu had shaken the realm. How could you fight with a servant whose duties are to boil water and to sweep the floor? If you don't think I am unworthy, let me take his place to try 10 moves."

He ZuDao shook his head. "No," he said. "This humilition by his blow, I cannot let it rest just like this. Kid! Take this!" Almost at the same time with his shout, his hand lunged at at Zhang JunBao's chest. Their distance was so near, so even if Wuse and Wuxiang wanted to come to his aid, there wouldn't be enough time. So everyone thought that the young man would soon be severely injured.

Facing this fierce attack, Zhang Jun Bao's feet did not move. He just drag the tip of his foot to the right and his body also turned to the right accordingly. With this movement, he had evaded the opponent's blow. Almost simultaneously, with his left fist protecting his waist, his right palm made an attack. This was Yoe-coan-hoa-ciu (Flower-Piercing Fist), one of the main Shaolin's kung fu.
What's amazing was that when he hit with his hand, his body was as firm and sturdy as a mountain, while his blow was as strong and powerful as the waves of River Tian-kang. Everybody was shocked, because that blow was not a blow that would usually come from an inexperienced young man, but it was like a blow coming from a famous kung fu expert. After he got his shoulder hit previously, He ZuDao knew that the young man's Internal Strength was stronger than Pan TianGeng and his two martial brothers. Nevertheless he was sure that that within 10 moves, he would be able to defeat him. Seeing this powerful blow, automatically he praised it: "Kid! What an excellent blow!"

Wuxiang's heart beat faster. He looked at Wuse from the corners of his eyes and said: "Younger Brother Wuse, I congratulate you. Without anybody knowing it, you have got yourself a very talented pupil!"
Wuse shook his head and said in a low voice: "No, it's not like that...."

Meanwhile, consecutively Zhang JunBao had launched 4 attacks, namely using Au-po-lat-kiong (Turning Feet Pulling Arrow), Tan-hong-tiauw-yang (The Phoenix Glaring at the Sun), Siu-tee-kiat-ciang (Cut Hand Under The Sleeves) and Jie-long-tan-san (Jie Long Carrying the Mountain). Each blow was accompanied with a strong Internal Strength kung fu, so that all the monks felt very impressed. TianMing, Wuse and Wuxiang watched the battle with hearts beating faster.
"That his blows are very good and accurate, is understandable," Wuxiang said. "But how did he aquire such a powerful Internal Strength?"

Meanwhile with his face flushed, He ZuDao sent his 6th blow. "I couldn't even defeat a kid, how could I have dared to come here?" he thought. "I will be the laughing stock of all kung fu masters in the realm." While thinking this, his turned his body around and attacked again using Thian-san-soat-piauw (Snow Floating on Mount Tian). In a second Zhang JunBao's body was encircled by a series of plunging blows like falling snows.

Except from Yang Guo who had ever taught him a few lessons on the peak of Mount Hua, JunBao had never learned kung fu from other teachers. Therefore he became very startled receiving such fierce attacks. At the critical second, in his confusion he swiveled his waist to the left, raised his hands until they were above his chin, and stood firmly on the ground. This was Song-coan-chiu (Two Cicling Hands) from Shaolin Clan, a fist technique that was as firm as a mountain and accompanied by a strong Internal Strength able to ward off any attack. This way, all of He ZuDao's attacks, no matter where they were coming from, could be parried off using Two Circling Hands.

Seeing this, the Shaolin monks became very happy and they could not restraint themselves anymore. Simulataneously they cheered and shouted happily.

[Jeren of all Trades]

Go Kirara, Go Kirara, its ya b-day, its ya b-day. hehehe. Great job translating Kirara.

[Kirara]

post #18
Before the cheering subsided, accompanied with a loud yell, He ZuDao hit his opponent's chest using his fist. There is nothing unusual with the blow except that it contained a huge Internal Strength. Hurriedly Zhang JunBao accepted the blow with his palms, using Pian-hoa-cit-seng (Flower Looking Seven Stars). "Buk!" Palms and fist clashed violently. He ZuDao's body swayed to the left and right, while Zhang JunBao staggered a few steps backward.

"Huh!" He ZuDao growled, and without changing his style, he took another step forward and using more of his Internal Strength kung fu, once again hit Zhang JunBao with his fist, who, because of his limited knowledge in kung fu styles, again used Pian-hoa-cit-seng to meet it. "BUK!" Zhang JunBao's body staggered 5 steps backward, while He ZuDao's body staggered forward. "One more hit!" He thundered, and his face pale. "Meet it using all your strength!" He took two steps forward, moved into get-ready position, and then hit again but with a slow movement.
At that moment, hundreds of the Shaolin monks held their breath. They were sure that with that blow, He ZuDao was risking his own reputation and that he must be using all his Internal Strength.

For the 3rd time. JunBao met it up with Pian-hoa-cit-seng again. But this time, the impact of the fist and palms did not produce any sound, The two opponents were doing their best to generate all their Internal Strength.
As for kung fu ability, He ZuDao was hundreds of times better than Zhang JunBao, but in terms of Internal strength, he could not match that young man. Nobody ever imagined that accidentally JunBao had learned some lessons from Jiu Yang Zhen Jing so he aquired an Internal Strength of a very high level.

For a relatively long time, they resisted each other's force by concentrating all their Internal Strength in their hands. Suddenly with the sound "Huh!", He ZuDao took a step backward because he felt his blood was rushing up to his head. He tried to withstand it with all his might, but suddenly he felt his eyes becoming blur and from his mouth he spurt some blood! Though he did not understand exactly why his opponent vomitted blood - which meant that he was seriously injured - Zhang JunBao became shocked and shouted: "Oh No!", while rushing forward to help his opponent stand straight.

He ZuDao waved his hand and laughing bitterly, he said: "He ZuDao! He ZuDao! You're really out of your mind!" Turning towards Great Abbot TianMing he dropped himself to the ground. "Shaolin Temple's kung fu is well-known for thousands of years and it is true, not just an empty name," he said. "Today my eyes are opened wider." After saying this, he turned around and his body flew a few feet forward. Then he stopped for a while and turned his head towards JueYuan.
"Reverend JueYuan," he said. "A man said that the Scripture was in the oil. He asked me to deliver this message to you." In another moment, using the tips of his feet to kick the ground a few times, he had vanished beyond the trees that were lining the road. All the monks felt awed, because although he was severely injured, he was still able to move so fast. such an ability and perseverance was a rare thing in the realm of martial arts.

After the opponent went away, all the monks looked at TianMing to wait for further instructions. Suddenly a skinny old monk from the Seven Elders of Sim-sian Hall said in a loud and eerie voice: "Who had taught him kung fu?"
Everyone felt eerie hearing his voice, which sounded like an owl in the middle of the night.
TianMing, Wuse and Wuxiang, who also wanted to ask the same question, simultaneously looked at JueYuan and JunBao. But the pair of teacher and pupil did not reply - they just stood looking confused and their mouths were gaping.

"JueYuan has a high-level Internal Strength, but it was obvious that he has never learned kung fu," said TianMing. "But what's puzzling is that kid's Shaolin kung fu. Who had taught him?"
All pupils from DaMo Hall and Luo-han Hall waited for the reply anxiously. They thought that because the young man had succeeded in defeating such a powerful opponent, he would be given a big reward, and his teacher would receive praises as well.

Seeing that Zhang JunBao did not reply, the monk's eyebrows stood up and there was a murderous glint on his face. "Hey! I am questioning you! Who had taught you Luo-han Fist?" He asked again in a loud voice.
Zhang JunBao slipped his hand into his pocket and took out a pair of iron Luo-han which was given to him by Guo Xiang. "I have never learned kung fu from anyone."

The old monk took a step forward and spoke again softly: "You had better told us honestly. Who had taught you martial arts?" Although he spoke softly as if it was a whisper, the voice was accompanied by a high-level Internal Strength, so everyone could hear it.

[Kirara]

Originally posted by Jeren of all Trades
Go Kirara, Go Kirara, its ya b-day, its ya b-day. hehehe. Great job translating Kirara.

ROFL! Thanks, Jeren.
I'm a bit slow today, I was watching again my HSDS VCDs to get more into the story.
I am now working again on the translation.
Thanks for being patient.