Sword of the Third Young Master (三少爷的剑) - Gu Long UNABRIDGED

This is an edited compilation of all the translated chapters for San Shaoye De Jian (三少爷的剑) by Gu Long.
For discussion, please go to the current active thread.


About The Translation

This translation project started back in November 24, 2004 by kara...almost ten years ago. All translated chapters should be posted before we hit the ten year marker. There are several threads with translation on this story. The following is a list of all the threads, translators, and corresponding chapters they'd translated:

Thread 1
Ch. 1-12 [translated by Kara] from Vietnamese source
Ch. 1-3 [re-translated/edited by chowbeng] based on Kara's translation
Thread 2
Ch. 1-6 [re-translated by xJadedx] from Chinese source
Thread 3
Ch. 13-17 [translated by Kara]
Ch. 17-34 [translated by Ren Wo Xing] from Chinese source
Ch. 35-38 [translated by Darkaos] from Vietnamese source
Thread 4
Ch. 46 (partial) [translated by Justin Lu] from Chinese source

I will translate Ch. 39-47 from the following source: SSYDJ. If anyone thinks I should use a different source material, PM me.


About My Role

After translating a project all by myself, I have a deep appreciation on people that contributed and devoted their time to these translation projects. Unlike Silver Spear, in which I restarted an earlier translation by BeeDreamer, I have no intention of starting from scratch here. One of the reasons is that I really wanted to credit this translation as a community effort. I think everyone deserves credit.

However, there is still a lot I can contribute to this translation. For example, I've been reading all three versions of the first chapters by Kara, chowbeng, and xJadedx in the threads above. I am comparing them with the Chinese source in the link I'd provided. There are discrepancies between the every translation and my source material. I have already spent three hours compiling the first third of chapter 1, including like 20 minutes on the first five lines or something like that.

Regarding my translation style, just remember I am not a writer by trade. I will not add any artistic interpretation to the original Chinese source. I will translate the meaning of the text in the most direct way possible. If I don't believe I can find a proper English translation to the corresponding Chinese text, I will keep the pinyin and have what I believe is the closest English equivalent in parentheses. People might already notice in the Silver Spear translation, I use footnotes liberally.

Therefore, what I am doing is joining the text together and creating a sort of definitive version of the translation. As an editor, I'll reserve the right to alter any text if I deem necessary. I do try to keep as much of the original translation if possible. Truthfully, I don't really want to spend time re-translating the completed chapters.

I mentioned this before in the Silver Spear thread. I am focusing mainly on how accurate and how close it stays with the original Chinese source. Grammar is not my strong point but I will proofread the text to the best of my ability.

FYI, information lifted from baidu and wiki.

About the Novel

This is San Shaoye De Jian (lit. Sword of the Third Young Master) by Gu Long. It was one of his later work and one of his more popular works of this period. It was serialized from June 1975 to March 1976. It was originally called Jianghu Ren (lit. Jianghu Man). It is now part of what is known as the Jianghuren series.

This story is about the world's number one sword, Xie Xiaofeng of Shenjian Shanzhuang (Divine Sword Manor), who is also as the Jianshen (God of Sword) Sanshaoye (Third Young Master). This story is about his relationship with Murong Qiudi and his rivalry with Yan Shisan.

(Don't want to say anymore, want to keep synopsis to the bare minimum.)

Table of Content

Forewords
Chapter 1: One Sword Strike Through the Heart
Chapter 2: A Change of Fortune
Chapter 3: The Strange Sword of Thousand Snakes
Chapter 4: The Love and Hatred of a Foolish Woman
Chapter 5: The Lion Opening Its Mouth
Chapter 6: Sudden Fortune With Women
Chapter 7: Attracted Misfortune
Chapter 8: Drunk As Mud
Chapter 9: More Than Meets the Eye
Chapter 10: Sword Is Present, Man Is Present
Chapter 11: Crestfallen Vagabond
Chapter 12: Love as Deep as the Ocean
Chapter 13: The Green Clothed Military Advisor
Chapter 14: Feeling Secure Knowing There's Support
Chapter 15: Human Affairs Has No Constant
Chapter 16: Not Even Fit to be Pigs Or Dogs
Chapter 17: Carefully Hidden, Not to be Shown
Chapter 18: As If It Was Two Different People
Chapter 19: True Friends
Chapter 20: Inauspicious Omens
Chapter 21: The Terrifying Black Death
Chapter 22: Fantastical Movements
Chapter 23: Murong of Jiangnan
Chapter 24: Earth is Shattered and Heaven is Awed
Chapter 25: If Not I, Then Who?
Chapter 26: Meeting Again After a Long Separation
Chapter 27: Short Meetings, Long Partings
Chapter 28: Been Through Countless Battles
Chapter 29: Sharing Trials and Tribulations
Chapter 30: The Swordsman of a Thousand Victories
Chapter 31: Intentionally Throwing One's Life Away
Chapter 32: A Card Up The Sleeve
Chapter 33: Washing the Red Flag with Blood
Chapter 34: The Swift Blade of the Iron Cavalry
Chapter 35: A Pearl Flower
Chapter 36: Finding a Close Friend Through Happiness
Chapter 37: See Through Life and Death
Chapter 38: Condemned in Speeches and in Writings
Chapter 39: Gambling With Swords
Chapter 40: The Premeditated Plan Comes First
Chapter 41: Thought Lightly of Life and Death
Chapter 42: Back From Death’s Door
Chapter 43: Like the Palm of My Hand
Chapter 44: The Life Snatching Sword
Chapter 45: Well-Matched Opponents
Chapter 46: The Great Confusion
Chapter 47: Not Caring about Fame and Fortune

translated by kaister



The modern society is becoming more and more complicated, more and more acceptable of the reality of things.

Modern people could, at anytime and anywhere, receive all kinds of restrictions and limitations.

However it isn’t like this in the past.

“The old days are good days…” is a saying I do not agree with.

Sure there are indeed good days in the past.

In the modern west, if you knew someone was a murderer, knew he killed your wife and brothers, without solid proof you will see him walk.

Because you wanted “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”, you killed him. You have become a murderer too.

“Revenge” is not a very good method. However, it is still better than letting the evil walk free.

At a certain time in the past, there was no such thing.

In that joyous era, people knew gratitude and vengeance, dared to love and dared to hate; virtue had its reward, evil had its retribution.

There is no need for heaven to avenge you; you can retaliate by yourself.

I am writing about these times.

I am writing about the Jianghu people of these times.

* * *

In that era, there were all kinds of people in Jianghu.

There were great heroes, and great bandits; there were brothel patrons, and assassins; there were righteous people, and hermits; there were magnificent thieves, and magnificent constables; there were heroic women, and prostitutes; there were common city folks, and noble gentlemen.

Their lives were usually colorful and interesting, full of dangers and excitements.

There were many people who loathed and detested them. There were many people who envied them.

Because they usually dressed glamorously, gave out generously, drank whole-heartily, ate wholly.

Unfortunately these are their happy side…

They have another side.

A painful side.

* * *

Magnificent constable caught a magnificent thief, planned feast to celebrate the heroic deed, ate and drank whole-heartily, drank till half-death.

Great bandit completed a big heist, handed some to the poor, spent the entire day in wine and pleasure, spent until there was no more.

Great hero with fame and power and no matter where he went, he was respected and welcomed.

Noble child born to luxury and extravagance, who always had whatever he wanted.

These lives are definitely envious; but have you seen their other side?

* * *

They had their loneliness and pain.

In dark and quiet night, waking up after drinking whole-heartily, and then suddenly realizing the person lying next to you is someone you didn’t even know the name of.

Have you experienced this before?

Between the noise of cheers and acclaims, after a person returns home to the pitch-black window only wishing for daylight to come out quicker.

Have you felt this way before?

Tonight you spent in drinking and pleasure, party blissfully, but you do not even know when you will be at tomorrow.

Even not knowing where you will be drunk tonight.

Willow tree dances in the wind, breezes at dawn and the fading moon. Although these moods are beautiful, but in its beauty how desolate it is and how it makes a man heart-broken.

This type of happiness, would you want to enjoy it?

Hypothetically, if you are able to have whatever you wanted, then what in life is worth chasing after?

This type of meaningless, who would know?

I know.

This is because I am also a Jianghu man and a wanderer without a root. If someone says I am in a slow and chronic suicide, seeking my own death, it is because he does not know —

Not know I already have a poisonous wine on my hand.

Of course it is the best poison.

* * *

What’s written in wuxia novels are people of Jianghu, but what I am writing right now is a bit different.

I want to write a series of stories; each chapter is a model representing individuals at its core.

I want to write about their happiness and about their pain.

I want them to create a mirror, in which everyone can find out what they should do through this mirror.

No matter what, they are lovely people.

It is because they dare to love and dare to hate, dare to cry and dare to laugh. It is also because they speak of loyalty and have principals.

* * *

Life, after all, is also lovely.

When a man is alive, he ought to understand how to enjoy life and how to pursue happiness.

If a man’s face is dirty, should he not go to a mirror in order to see how to wipe it off?

I only hope this mirror could do the same; help people wipe away the dirt spots in their lives.

I truly hope every one’s life could become happier.

[End Forewords]

Originally translated by xJadedx, chowbeng, and kara. Edited by kaister

Chapter 1
One Sword Strikes Through the Heart -


Aura of the sword sweeps across 30 000 li (miles)
Light of the sword chills through nineteen zhou (continents/islands)¹


Late autumn.

Tree leaves were falling due to the wind². The setting sun filled the sky.

Under the falling tree leaves, there stood a man. It was as if he was one with this vast land’s autumn scenery.

Because he was too quiet.

Because he was too cold.

Along this bone-deep cold detachment and tiredness, there was a kind of threatening killing aura.

He was tired. Perhaps it was because he had already killed too many. There were even some who should not have been killed.

He killed only because he never had a choice.

* * *

There was a sword in his palm; a northern snakehead³ leather scabbard with a golden mouth and decorated with thirteen large pearls, with a long sword .

In Jianghu, there were not many people who did not recognize this sword, and not many people who did not know this man.

This man and his sword had been famous in Jianghu since he was seventeen. Right now, he was nearing middle age; he could not longer put down this sword. Other also would not allow him to put down this sword.

When he put down this sword, his life would come to an end.

Fame, sometimes, is like a baggage; a baggage you can never get rid of.

“The nineteenth of September. Youshi (5-7pm). On the side of the ancient road outside of Luoyang city, under the old tree, clean your throat, and come with your sword!”

Sunset at youshi.

The autumn sun had set and the fallen leaves were fluttering.

On the ancient road, a person was coming while taking big strides. He was dressed in fresh and exquisite clothing. He had a pale face and a long sword hanging diagonally behind his shoulder. His pair of eyes was like swords that came out of its scabbards; staring at the sword under the tree.

He footsteps were steady, but he was walking quickly. He stopped seven chi (feet) away and suddenly asked, "Yan Shisan?"

"Yes."

"Your Duoming Shisan Jian (Life Snatching Thirteen Sword), is it really invincible?"

"Not necessarily."

This person laughed. He laughed mockingly and insensitively and said, "I am Gao Tong⁴. The "One Sword Strikes Through the Heart", Gao Tong."

"I know."

"Did you ask to meet me here?"

"I know you are currently looking for me."

"That's right. I am looking for you, because I have to kill you."

Yan Shisan coldly said, "You are not the only one who wants to kill me."

Gao Tong said, "It's because you are too famous. As long as I kill you, I can instantly become famous."

He was laughing coldly and continued, "It is not easy to become famous in Jianghu. Only this method is relatively easy."

Yan Shisan responded, "Very good."

Gao Tong said, "Right now I've already came. I brought my sword and cleaned my throat."

"Very good."

"Where is your heart?"

"My heart is already dead."

"Then I will let it to die one more time."

The light of the sword flashed and was already drawn out of its sheath. It was heading straight at Yan Shisan's heart as fast as lightning.

One sword strikes through the heart.

With just this one sword, he had already pierced through countless of people's heart. This was supposedly a fatal killer!

However, he did not pierced through Yan Shisan's heart. As his sword thrust out, his throat suddenly became cold.

Yan Shisan's sword was thrust into his throat.

It was thrusted one cun three fen (4.33 cm/1.7 in) deep.

Gao Tong's sword fell, but he was still not dead.

Yan Shisan said, "I hope you know, becoming famous is not an enjoyable thing."

Gao Tong stared at him, his eyes were sticking out.

Yan Shisan dully said, "So you will be better off dead."

He pulled out his sword from Gao Tong's throat. He was pulling it out very slowly so that the fresh blood would not splatter on his body.

He was very experience with this. If blood stained your clothes, it will be very hard to clean it off.

-- Wouldn't it be even harder to wash off the bloodstain on your hand?

* * *

The twilight grew even darker.

The blood on the sword had finished dripping.

As the sword went back to its sheath, four people appeared in the twilight.

Four people, four swords!

The four people were dressed very exquisitely and had very imposing manners. The hair of the oldest was already completely white. The youngest was still a youth.

Yan Shisan had never seen these people before, but still knew who they were.

The oldest had been famous for forty years; he had remained outside the frontier⁵ all these years. His self-developed Feiying Shisan Ci (Flying Eagle Thirteen Stabs) stance dominated the border region. This time he entered the border to look for Yan Shisan. He did not believe his “Flying Eagle Thirteen Stabs” could be less than Yan Shisan’s “Life Snatching Thirteen Sword”.

The youngest was a promising youth who had recently rose to fame in Jianghu. He was also the most outstanding student of the Diancang Sect. He had natural talent and was willing to endure hardship. His heart was also very ruthless. That was why after debuting for only one year, the name “Heartless Youngster” Cao Bing⁶ had already shook Jianghu.

The other two were, of course, also highly skilled masters. Qing Feng Jian’s⁷ swordplay was light and unpredictable, his sword was like wind. Iron Sword Zhen Sansha’s⁸ swordplay was steady and vigorous, his sword actually weighed thirty-three catties.

* * *

Yan Shisan knew who they were. They came because he invited them here.

All four people’s eyes were staring at him. No one even glanced at the corpse on the ground.

They were not willing to break their own spirit before they even attack. No matter who was lying dead on the ground, it had nothing to do with them. As long as they were alive, whoever was dead or alive did not matter to them.

Yan Shisan smiled. He was smiling wearily, “I can’t believe you all came.”

Guanwai Feiying⁹ coldly said, “I thought you only invited me.”

Yan Shisan said indifferently, “If something can be taken care of once, why waste more time on it.”

Cao Bing interrupted, “Four people came, so who goes first?”

He was anxious.

He was anxious to become famous and anxious to kill Yan Shisan.

Iron Sword Zhen Sanshan suggested, “We can use rock paper scissors. The winner gets to go first.”

Yan Shisan said, “Not necessary.”

Iron Sword Zhen Sanshan asked, “Not necessary?”

Yan Shisan said, “You can all attack together!”

Guanwai Feiying angrily said, “What kind of people do you think we are? How can we use many against the few?”

Yan Shisan asked, “You are not willing?”

Guanwai Feiying replied, “Of course not willing.”

Yan Shisan said, “I’m willing!”

He had already drawn his sword. His sword flashed like a rainbow and lightning. It suddenly flashed at the same time in front of all four men’s eyes.

Now they had no choice even if they were unwilling. All four of their swords left their sheath at the same time. Cao Bing attack was the fastest, the most vicious, and the most heartless.

Guanwai Feiying leapt in the air and attacked downward. Flying Eagle Thirteen Stances¹⁰ was the same type of martial art as the Qiqin Zhang (Seven Avian Palm); using height to strike low and strength to conquer the weak. Unfortunately, his opponent was even stronger.

In a blink of an eye, Cao Bing had struck out nine sword stances. He did not pay attention to the others, but only stared at Yan Shisan. His only wish was to have this man die under his sword. Unfortunately, his nine sword strikes hit nothing but air. Yan Shisan, who was originally in front of his eyes, was now nowhere to be seen. He paused and then realized something very frightening.

Three more dead people appeared on the ground. Each one of their throats had a hole.

Guanwai Feiying, Qing Fengjian, and Iron Sword Zhen Sanshan, these three first-class swordsmen in Jianghu, had all in the blink of an eye died under Yan Shisan’s sword.

Cao Bing’s hands were ice cold. He lifted his head and then saw Yan Shisan was already standing far away underneath that ancient tree.

The killing sword had returned to its sheath.

Cao Bing gripped his hands tightly and said, “You…”

Yan Shisan interrupted him, “I don’t want to kill you yet!”

Cao Bing asked, “Why?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because I want to give you another chance to kill me.”

The green veins on Cao Bing’s hand were bulging. The sweats on his forehead were like beans. He could not accept such an opportunity. This was an insult. However, he also did not want to give up this opportunity.

Yan Shisan continued, “Go back and practice sword skills for three years, then come back and kill me.”

Cao Bing clenched his teeth.

Yan Shisan continued, “Diancang’s swordplay is really not bad. As long as you’re willing to practice, then you’ll surely have a chance.”

Cao Bing suddenly asked, “What if you have already died under someone else’s sword three years later?”

Yan Shisan smiled, “Then you can go kill the person who killed me.”

Can Bing bitterly replied, “You better take care, and better not die!”

Yan Shisan said, “I also hope that would be the case!”

* * *

The twilight grew even darker. Darkness had enveloped the land.

Yan Shisan slowly turned around and faced the darkest part of the night. Suddenly, he said, “Are you well?”

After a long time, there was indeed a reply in the darkness, “I am not well.”

It was a cold voice; hoarse yet deep. A man slowly emerged from the darkness. Black clothes, black hair, black sheathed sword, and his face was black as if it was carrying an expression of death. Only his pair of pitch black eyes was shining. He walked very slowly, yet his entire body seemed very light. His feet seemed as if it did not even touch the ground; like a spirit of the night.

Yan Shisan’s pupils suddenly contracted. He suddenly asked, “Raven¹¹?”

“Yes.”

Yan Shisan deeply sighed, “Couldn’t believe that in the end I still meet you!”

Raven replied, “Meeting me is not a good thing.”

Indeed it was not. Raven is not a magpie¹², no one like to see a raven. In ancient times, there was a legend — the arrival of raven would bring disaster. What kind of disaster did he bring this time?

— Perhaps he himself was the disaster, an unavoidable disaster.

* * *

Since it was unavoidable, then why bother and worry about it? Yan Shisan had returned back to calmness.

Raven stared at him, stared at his sword, and then said, “Great sword!”

Yan Shisan asked, “You like swords?”

The Raven replied, “I only like great swords. You not only have great swordplay, but also have a great sword.”

Yan Shisan asked, “You want my sword?”

Raven replied, “En.”¹³

His reply was straightforward yet simple. Yan Shisan laughed. This time, his smile no longer had that weary expression, but only a killing aura! He knew that he had, at last, met a true opponent.

Raven said, “Magpies bring good news, but ravens, however, bring difficulties and disasters.”

Yan Shisan asked, “You came to bring disaster?”

Raven replied, “Yes.”

Yan ShiSan asked, “I will face disaster?”

Raven said, “Yes.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Are you the disaster that I must face?”

Raven replied, “No.”

Yan Shisan asked, “If it is not you, then what is it?”

Black Raven replied, “It is your sword!”

* * *

An ordinary man by himself is innocent, but treasuring a jade ring becomes a crime.¹⁴ Yan Shisan obviously understood this principle. His fame and his sword were like the musk deer’s smell and the antelope’s antlers.

Raven said, “I have already collected seventeen swords.”

Yan Shisan replied, “Quite a few.”

Raven continued, “All seventeen are famous swords.”

Yan Shisan said, “Looks like you’ve also killed quite a few famous people.”

Raven said, “I also want Gao Tong and the Old Eagle’s swords.”

Yan Shisan responded, “If you take care of their corpses, all four swords are yours.”

Raven said, “I only want the swords, not the corpses!”

Yan Shisan asked, “Could it be that you only want dead people’s swords?”

Raven said, “That’s right!”

Yan Shisan said, “If you kill me, my sword’s yours as well!”

Raven said, “Of course.”

Yan Shisan said, “Very good.”

Raven said, “Not good.”

Yan Shisan replied, “What’s not good?”


[End of Chapter 1]

#####[FOOTNOTE]#####
[1] Two quick notes: 1. li is 1640ft or 500m, often translated as “mile” even though it’s really only 1/3 of an English mile. 2. zhou (洲), is a land mass surrounded by water. The previous translation had this translated as “province” or “state”. I think this is because the Chinese character looks and sounds similar to zhou (州), which is more of a province/state.
Truthfully the exact text “30000 li” or “19 zhou” doesn’t really matter. I can easily translate it as “great distance” and “great area” and still convey the same message. However, I'm just going stay as close to the original text as possible.
[2] Muyexiaoxiao (木叶萧萧), muye, lit. "wood leave", is a very poetic way of saying tree leave. Xiaoxiao when used in the context means wind blowing causing the leaves to fall. Muyexiaoxiao is a phrase used to paint a very desolate scene or show a person in a sorrowful mood.
[3] Heiyu (黑魚), lit. “black fish” is a nickname for wuli (烏鱧), or Northern snakehead.
[4] Gao Tong (高通), surname Gao means “high/tall”, given name means “go through/clear/open”.
[5] Guanwai (关外), means outside the Shanhai “Guan” (Pass), which is traditionally the Chinese frontier.
[6] Cao Bing (曹冰), surname Cao, given name means “ice”.
[7] Qing Feng Jian (清风剑), lit. mean “cool breeze sword”.
[8] Tieshou Zhen Sanshan (铁剑镇三山) is another strange name. It literally means “iron sword pressing three mountains”. However since Zhen Sanshan is an actually character in Water Margin, I only partially translate the name.
[9] Guanwai Feiying (关外飞鹰) is not exactly a “name”. Feiying is literally flying eagle. So his name is “Flying eagle of the outside of Guanhai Pass”, which is very wordy.
[10] Not a typo. The Chinese text says feiyingshisan”shi” instead of feiyingshisan”ci” earlier, where shi=stance and ci=stab/pierce/prick.
[11] wuya (乌鸦), means either raven or crow. The Chinese literally mean “black corvidae (crow family)” so I understand why it was translated to “black raven” since it’s literally means black crow. Unfortunately, raven is never translated back to a “ya”, it’s always a wuya. So if I translate “black raven” back to Chinese, it’ll be something like a ‘hei’wuya, where hei is the common word for black, thus hei=black wuya=raven. Therefore, I dropped “black” altogether.
[12] xique (喜鹊), lit means happiness magpie.
[13] En, a noise used to indicate agreement.
[14] Chinese idiom, 怀璧其罪, means wealth or talent will attract trouble from envious people to an innocent man.

click to show/hide spoilers

Editor Notes

Most of the edited chapter is based on xJadedx's translation. I did this because that translation is closer to the style I translate in, which is more direct and follows closer to the original text. Although chowbeng's chapter is based on kara's translation, I suspect the original Chinese text was used somewhere because it correctly translated two mistakes in the other translations. There was really nothing inherently wrong with kara's translation; because there are 3 versions, I had to choose one as a basis.

More notes:
1. I've decided to keep the beginning poem more as a literal translation of the original text. I found someone translated it as the following:

The energy of the sword penetrate through thousands miles.
The aura of the sword pierce through thousands lands.

Although, this translation doesn't stay true to the original text, it's a perfectly valid translation, IMO.
Translating poetry is a bit difficult for me. Part of the reason is that poem uses a lot of figurative speech; literal translation doesn't always work. The poem pretty much describes how invincible a person's sword skill is.

2. chowbeng managed to translate two parts of the text correctly, which stuck to me. One, "木叶萧萧" (see footnote 2) is a phrase I'm not familiar with but after doing a bit of research, chowbeng's translation is the most accurate. The text can not be translated literally. Two, "关外" (see footnote 5), for some reasons also seemed to have given the other two translators some difficulties.

Again, I re-translated a few of the texts but a most of the translation is based off one of the previous translations. I also made so style choice decision. For example, I'm treating "Raven" as an actual name; therefore "The Raven" sounds kind of strange, just like it doesn't make sense to say "The John" or "The Harry". Since ravens are inherently black, "Black Raven" sounds redundant so I dropped the word "black".

Going over the first half took much longer than the second half. This is because second half is mostly dialogues and they're pretty straightforward. I was starting to get worry at the beginning.

Unfortunately, I'm not much of an "editor". If there's any mistake, feel free to PM me.

Originally translated by xJadedx, chowbeng, kara. Edited by kaister.

Chapter 2
A Change of Fortune


Raven said, “Right now I am still not certain I can kill you!”

Yan Shisan laughed loudly. He suddenly realized that this man truly was a raven – at least ravens would not tell lies.

Raven continued, “Especially that sword stance you used just now to kill Guanwai Feiying.”

Yan Shisan remarked, “You can’t break that sword stance?”

Raven said, “I can’t think of a person who can break that sword stance.”

Yan Shisan asked, “You believe that this swordplay is the unparalleled in the world?”

Raven replied, “I have seen the great masters from both the Seven Major Sword Sects and the Four Great Noble Families.”

Yan Shisan asked, “What do you think of them?”

Raven replied, “Their swordplay are all too conservative. They value their own lives too much. Therefore,
they are inferior to you.”

Yan Shisan sighed and said, “Your insights are quite good, but your knowledge is quite limited.”

Raven replied, “Oh?”

Yan Shisan continued, “I know a man who can break that sword stance of mine easily.”

Raven’s expressions changed, “You’ve seen his swordsmanship?”

Yan Shisan nodded and sighed, “Now that swordplay is truly unparalleled in the world.”

Raven asked, “Who is this man?”

Yan Shisan did not answer directly, but only held out three fingers.

Raven asked, “Three Hand Sword Jin Fei¹⁵?”

Legend has it that when Three Hand Sword dueled with someone, it was as if he had three hands. A single sword also seemed to transform into three. One only needed to hear his name to be able to imagine the quickness of his swordplay and the numerous variations of his stances.

Yan Shisan, however, shook his head, “To truly kill someone, you don’t need three hands, nor do you need three swords.”

To truly kill someone, one sword is enough.

Raven said, “So you’re not talking about him?”

Yan Shisan replied, “No!”

Raven asked, “Who is it?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Third Young Master.”

Raven asked, “Which family’s third young master?”

Yan Shisan replied, “At the foot of the Emerald Cloud Peak, in front of the Green Water Lake.”

Raven’s fists tightened. Yan Shisan continued, “He is also using a precious sword that is unparalleled in the world.”

Raven’s pupils contracted. Yan Shisan continued, “But I advise you that no matter what do not go meet him.”

Raven suddenly laughed. He rarely laughed, and his laughter was erratic yet strange. Yan Shisan said, “This is not a joke.”

Raven replied, “I’m laughing at you.”

Yan Shisan said, “Oh?”

Raven replied, “You obviously knew that since I already came here, I would never let you go.”

Yan Shisan agreed.

Raven continued, “Although I’m not certain that I can kill you, you also are not certain that you can kill me.”

Yan Shisan admitted to this. Raven continued, “Therefore you want to provoke me to go to Emerald Cloud Peak and challenge that Third Young Master first.”

Yan Shisan also laughed!

Raven asked, “Is this a joke to you?”

Yan Shisan replied, “No, I’m laughing at myself.”

Raven said, “Oh?”

Yan Shisan explained, “Because you see through my mind so easily.”

Raven asked, “So right now you are not willing to duel with me?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Very unwilling.”

Raven asked, “Why?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because I still have an appointment to keep.”

Raven asked, “What kind of appointment?”

Yan Shisan replied, “An appointment with death.”

Raven asked, “Where is the appointment?”

Yan Shishan answered, “At the foot of the Emerald Cloud Peak, in front of the Green Water Lake.”

Raven asked, “You are still going even though you know perfectly well that you are not his match?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Appointment of death is eternal until we’ve met?”

Raven asked, “Could it be that you are intentionally going to your death?”

Yan Shisan laughed again and plainly said, “Could it be that you think living is such an enjoyable thing?”

Raven shut his mouth.

Yan Shisan was still laughing; his laughter contained an indescribable hint of mockery. He said, “A swordsman will sooner or later die under someone else’s sword, there is no way to escape this.”

Raven kept his silence.

Yan Shisan said, “I had killed countless people in my life. If I could die under the sword of the world’s
number one swordsman, then I would die with no regrets.”

Raven looked at him and stared at him for a very long time. Suddenly he said, “Fine. You can go.”

Yan Shisan cupped his fists to bid farewell, turned around and left without another word. He did not go far before he stopped once again. He discovered that Raven had been following him all along; following him like his shadow.

Raven also stopped and looked at him.

Yan Shisan said, “I understood your intentions.”

Black Raven said, “Oh?”

Yan Shisan said, “If I can go, why can’t you go as well?”

Raven said, “You are not stupid.”

Yan Shisan said, “But you don't necessarily have to go with me together.”

Raven replied, “I have to.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Why?”

Raven replied, “Because I don't want to miss the chance to see the duel between the two of you.” He continued coldly, “A dual between great masters, they had to use their full strength. If I watched from the side, I definitely would be able to identify the flaws in their swordplay.”

Yan Shisan sighed, “Makes sense.”

Raven said, “No matter which one of you wins or loses in this dual, the one alive at the very end must be me.”

Yan Shisan said, “Because by that time, the victor must have also exhausted all his strength. Additionally, you have identified the flaw in his swordplay; so if you wanted to kill him, that would be the best opportunity.”

Raven said, “So how can I miss out on such an opportunity?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Indeed, you should not.”

He sighed again, “It's just a pity that you've made one slight error.”

Black Raven asked, “What is it?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Within Third Young Master’s swordplay, there is no flaw, not even one!”

* * *

Right now they had already started drinking.

The best restaurant, the best wine; they had always been extravagant men.

Yan Shisan said, “After killing people, I must drink wine.”

Raven responded, “Without killing people, I’d still drink wine.”

Yan Shisan continued, “After drinking wine, I must to find a woman.”

Raven responded, “Without drinking wine, I’d still go find a woman.”

Yan Shisan laughed loudly, “Who knew that you are a voluptuary¹⁶.”

Raven replied, “We are both the same.”

They had really drunk quite a few.

Yan Shisan said, “Since you’re also a voluptuary, I’ll let you have it today.”

Raven asked, “Let me have what?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Let you have the bill.”

The Raven said, “No need to let me have it, no need to be polite.”

Yan Shisan said, “This time I must let you have it, I must be polite.”

Raven replied, “No need, no need.”

Yan Shisan said, “I have to, I have to.”

When others dine out, they tend to insist on paying the bill, but these two were insisting on not paying the bill.

Yan Shisan said, “When I have to kill, I never carry any burdens with me, so they won’t get in the way.”

Raven replied, “Oh?”

Yan Shisan continued, “Silver is the most burdensome thing.”

Raven agreed. If a person carried a few hundred taels of silver with them, how could he possibly still display light movements?

Raven suggested, “You can bring silver banknotes.”

Yan Shisan said, “I hate silver banknotes.”

Raven asked, “Why?”

Yan Shisan replied, “A single banknote passed through countless pairs of hands. It’s awfully filthy.”

Raven suggested again, “The large pearls on your sword can be exchanged for silver.”

Yan Shisan laughed again. Raven asked, “Is this a joke?”

Yan Shisan replied, “The world's biggest joke.”

He suddenly lowered his voice, “All the pearls are fake. I sold the real ones a long time ago.”

Raven was stunned. Yan Shisan continued, “Therefore today I have to be polite and let you have it.”

Raven asked, “What if I didn’t come with you?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Then I’d obviously have other ways. But now since you’re here already, why would I need to think of other ways?”

Raven also laughed.

Yan Shisan asked, “What are you laughing at?”

Raven said, “I’m laughing at you because you found the wrong person.”

He also lowered his voice, “I’m the same as you. Tonight, I also came prepared to kill.”

Yan Shisan asked, “You also hate paper money?”

Raven replied, “I despise them.”

Yan Shisan was also stunned.

Raven said, “So today I also have to be polite and let you have the honor.”

Yan Shisan sighed only to see the restaurant owner came forward with a laugh.
“Both of you need not to be polite to each other because both of your bills had already been paid for by someone downstairs.”

* * *

Who paid the bills? Why would they pay the bills for them? They did not even think about it, nor did they even ask about it. To them, none of these were important.

To be able to eat and drink freely without paying is always a very happy thing.

When a person is happy, it is natural to drink more than usual. However, they were not drunk yet.

Just when they were about to feel a bit drunk, two women suddenly came up from downstairs. Both were very attractive women and they were very well dressed. They were exactly the kind of women who could captivate men the best.

When men are on the verge of being drunk, they are most easily tempted.

Yan Shisan and Raven were already captivated, and were just planning on thinking of a way to seduce them. Who knew that they actually did not even need to be seduced; they came over by themselves.

“I am Xiao Hong.”

“I am Xiao Cui.”

The two of them smiled very sweetly and very charmingly, “We came here specifically to serve you two.”

Yan Shisan looked at Raven, and Raven looked at Yan Shisan.

If the people who had died under their swords saw what they looked like now, they would surely feel that they had died unjustly. Now, they did not look at all like the world famous, heartless swordsmen.

Xiao Hong sweetly said, “Would the two gentlemen like to drink wine here or come to our place; either is fine.”

Xiao Cui said, “The bills for both places, someone had already paid for.”

Although there were many good people and good deeds in the world, such good thing was still very rare.

Raven asked, “Is this your luck or is it mine?”

Yan Shisan replied, “It is certainly mine.”

Raven asked, “Why?”

Yan ShiSan replied, “They say that when a man was about to die, his fortune would always change.”

* * *

This was the first day.

The second day was also the same, no matter where they went, someone always paid for their bills.

Who was paying the bills? Why? They still did not even ask or even think about it.

They slept very late and rose very late. Every day, the moment they stepped out of the inn’s door, there would be a carriage waiting for them outside. It was as if someone was worried that they would be too tired from the night before and were unable to walk. But today, they wanted to get off the carriage and walk.

The weather today was excellent.

Raven asked, “Is the Emerald Cloud Peak far away?”

Yan Shisan answered, “Not very far.”

Raven said, “To travel like this, I hope to travel a bit further. The further the better.”

Yan Shisan said, “We could walk slowly.”

In front of them was a large forest; the tree leaves were still very green. Yan Shisan suggested, “How about we go drink for a bit in the forest?”

Raven asked, “Where’s the wine?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Relax, if we want to drink, someone would naturally bring the wine here.”

* * *

It was a sunny day.

They walked along the sun-lit road; the carriage was following behind them. On the other side of the road, however, a carriage was coming over and only stopped after it drove into the forest. Three adults and a child stepped out of the carriage.


[End of Chapter 2]

------------[FOOTNOTE]------------
[15] Jin Fei (金飞), surname Jin means gold, given name means “fly/flight”.
[16] jiusezhitu (酒色之徒), lit. means “follower of wine and woman”, but voluptuary, which is a person devoted to the pursuit of luxury and pleasure, is also a fair translation.

click to show/hide spoilers

Editor Note.

Not much changes, saw a few relatively small mistakes. It’s primarily based on xJadedx’s translation.
xJadedx translate like I do, i.e. a more direct translation and close translation, which is a good and bad thing. Why bad? The original text has a lot of redundancy.

For example, “sooner or later will inevitably dies under someone else’s sword, something hard to avoid..” (paraphrasing here). It has the following redundant elements: “sooner or later”, “inevitably”, and “hard to avoid”. Thus chowbeng/kara’s translation sometimes flow better.

The one change I made was switching from Jade Cloud Peak to Emerald Cloud Peak. Either is fine, the word "cui" could mean either jade green or emerald green. I wanted to emphasize that it's a color but "jade green cloud peak" or "emerald green cloud peak" doesn't sound as nice. Jade to me means the gem, but frankly so is an emerald. However emerald give me a sense of a richer green color, whereas the shade of jade varies. I stuck with emerald because that color is closer to how I imagine this color to be.

Originally translated by xJadedx, chowbeng, and kara. Edited by kaister.

Chapter 3
The Strange Sword of Thousand Snakes


The adults went in. A beautiful child in green clothes and a small hat came out, took a big red silk ribbon and tied it on the tree branches outside. The child also went into the forest. Then Yan Shisan sighed, “Looks like we better change to another location to drink wine.”

Raven asked, “Is this place not good?”

Yan Shisan replied, “It’s very good!”

Raven asked, “If it’s very good, then why should we change?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because of this.”

He pointed at the red silk ribbon on the tree branch.

Raven asked, “What does this mean?”

Yan Shisan replied, “This means that this place has momentarily become a forbidden ground, and no one else can enter.”

Raven laughed coldly, “Whose rules are these?”

Before Yan Shisan could reply, the sound of a zither suddenly flowed out from the forest. The sound was melodious and beautiful, and was filled with happiness and joy.

The Raven, however, tightly clenched his fists.

At that moment, eleven fast horses were suddenly galloping on the road. The riders on the horses were wearing tightly fitted clothes. They were agile and fierce. Each person was carrying a large saber on his back. The red silk ribbons on the saber were dancing in the wind. As the horses rushed into the forest, each of the riders got off their horses. Each of their movements seemed strong and vigorous.

There were not many true skilled masters in the martial world, but these eleven people all appeared to be skilled masters.

The one with the swiftest movements was a one-armed big fellow, as soon as he rushed into the forest, he shouted fiercely, “Brings all your lives and come with me!”

* * *

The sound of the zither in the forest did not stop, still sounded so melodious and beautiful, and made people joyous.

The eleven big men already stormed in.

Raven asked, “Did these men came from Mount Tai Hang?”

Yan Shisan said, “En.”

Raven said, “The Great Sabers of Tai Hang do indeed have guts.”

Yan Shisan said, “En.”

Raven asked, “What do you think they came here for?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Came here to die!”

As soon as he finished speaking, someone flew out from the forest, falling heavily on the ground. He stopped moving as soon as he hit the ground, without even making a single sound.

This man was the most agile and fiercest, the one-armed big fellow.

* * *

The melodious zither sound still did not stop.

From the forest, however, bodies continued to fly out nonstop, one after another, a total of eleven.

The eleven men, as soon as they flew out, dropped to the ground and could not even move.

When they stormed into the forest, they moved very fast.

They came out even faster.

Raven coldly said, “They had indeed come here to die.”

Yan Shisan replied, “It seems that they’re not the only ones who came here to die.”

Raven asked, “There is still me?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Now is not your turn yet.”

Raven did not ask any further.

He had already seen two people approaching on the road – one adult and one child. The adult was not very old, and was at the most around thirty years old. Moreover, it was a woman; a woman that appeared very delicate and very pretty. Her face had an expression of indescribable sorrow. The child was younger than the child who came out a moment ago to tie the silk ribbon, and had a pair of large eyes that were constantly looking around. Anyone could tell that this was a very smart child – cute as well as smart.

However, he was about to do something that was perhaps not very smart.

They were walking toward the forest.

Even Raven could not bear to see them walking to their deaths and was prepared to stop them.

They had also seen the red silk ribbon on the branch, and the young ma'am, who was dressed in emerald green clothes, suddenly said, “Untie it!”

Thus, the child stood on his toes and untied it, but then also replaced the knot with a piece of emerald green silk ribbon that he took out.

After that, the two slowly walked into the forest.

It was as if neither of the two had seen the dead bodies on the ground nor Raven and Yan Shisan. Raven originally planned to stop them, but now, for some reason he had changed his mind. Yan Shisan did not even move.

Their eyes, however, both showed a strange expression.

Just now, the sound of zither in the forest suddenly stopped.

* * *

The wind was blowing the tree leaves and the sunlight basked the earth.

A very, very long time had passed after the zither had stopped; there was still no sound coming out from inside the forest.

No one knew just what had happened inside.

* * *

Who was the one playing the zither?

Why did the zither music suddenly stop?

Would the young woman and the child be thrown out of the forest just like the men of Great Sabers of Tai Hang?

* * *

Anyone would want to know the answers to these questions. Raven and Yan Shisan were no exceptions.

Therefore they did not leave. Even the driver of the horse carriage, who was following behind them, had his eyes wide opened waiting to see some excitements.

There was no excitement to see. No one was thrown out.

They only heard a series of footsteps treading on the fallen leaves. The footsteps were very light and very slow. Walking in the front was the older child who moments ago came out to tie the red silk ribbon onto the branch. Two people were slowly walking behind him, a man and a woman who seemed to be husband and wife. They both were not very old, their attire was exquisite, and their demeanor was very elegant.

The man carried a long sword at his waist, and looked handsome and suave. The woman was not only beautiful but also gentle. If they really were husband and wife, then they really would be an enviable pair. Only now, both of their faces were a bit pale and they seemed to be a bit angry.

They were initially planning to step into the carriage, but changed their minds after they saw Raven and Yan Shisan standing outside the forest.

The two, in a low voice, gave a few instructions to the child. The child ran over and stared at them with his pair of big eyes. He said, “Have you been here for a long time?”

Yan Shisan nodded.

The child asked, “You’ve seen everything that just happened?”

Raven nodded.

The child asked, “Do you know where we’re from?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Flaming Mountains¹⁷, Red Cloud Valley, Xiahou Manor.”

The child sighed and said, “You seem to know quite a few things.”

Although his voice was clearly that of a child, his tone and facial expressions, however, were very mature.

Yan Shisan asked, “What’s your name?”

The child said with a serious face, “You don’t need to ask for my name. I’m not here to make friends with you!”

Raven asked, “What are you here for?”

The child replied, “Our master (gongzi) want to borrow three things from you, three things from each of you!”

Raven asked, “Which three?”

The child replied, “A tongue and two eyes.”

Yan ShiSan laughed.

Raven also laughed unexpectedly.

The two suddenly reached out simultaneously, one grabbing his arms and the other grabbing his legs, and at the same time said in a low voice!

“Fly, boy.”

Then the child flew up with a “whoosh” sound, like a missile shooting straight up toward the sky.

That man placed his hands behind his back as if he did not even see this, but his wife frowned.

Only then did the child fall back down.

Raven and Yan Shisan reached out simultaneously again, caught him gently, and gently placed him on the ground. The child was now scared out of his wits and even his pants were wet.

Yan Shisan, smiling, patted his head and said, “Don’t worry, when I was little, I was often thrown up like this by adults.”

Raven added, “This way helps build up courage.”

The child rolled his eyes and was prepared to flee.

Yan Shisan said, “You didn’t take the things you came here for, how are you going to explain it when you go back?”

The child replied, “I…”

Yan Shisan said, “I can teach you a method.”

The child was listening.

Yan Shisan continued, “Would your master happen to be Master Xiahou?”

The child nodded.

Yan Shisan asked, “Did he ask you come get these things?”

The child kept on nodding.
Yan Shisan said, “Then you can go back and ask him, if he’s the one who wants these three things, why doesn’t he come get it himself?”

The child did not nod anymore, and ran immediately after turning around.

Master Xiahou’s face was still expressionless, but his wife walked over. Her walking posture was graceful yet noble, her voice was also very refined, and she gently said, “My name is Xue Keren¹⁸. The man standing over there is my husband Xiahou Xing¹⁹.”

Yan Shisan blandly said, “So it is the young zhuangzhu (manor master) of Red Cloud Valley.”

Xue Keren replied, “Since both of you have heard of his name, then you should know what kind of a person he is.”

Yan Shisan said, “I don’t know.”

Xue Keren replied, “He is a genius. Not only is he skilled at both literary and martial arts, very few people can match his swordplay.”

Even if women admire their own husbands, they would still rarely praise their husbands like this in front of others. Even if they did praise, they would at least still blush a little. Not only did she not blush, she did not even look a bit embarrassed. Her beautiful eyes were full of love and admiration for her husband.

Yan Shisan sighed to himself. — Being able to marry such a woman, what good fortune.

Xue Keren continued, “Against a person like him, it is only natural the two of you wouldn't want to fight him!”

Yan Shisan replied, “Oh?”

Xue Keren replied, “Because not only is he from such a distinguished family, he is also extremely skilled himself. If you two fight someone like him, isn't it akin to eggs hitting against rocks? Therefore I would advise both of you should still…”

Yan Shisan said, “Should still obediently cut off our tongues, gouge our eyes out, and give to him?”

Xue Keren sighed again and said, “Although that method is a little inconvenient, it is at least better than losing your lives.”

Yan Shisan laughed again and suddenly asked, “Is this young master of yours, who’s skilled in both literary and martial arts, a mute?”

Xue Keren replied, “Of course not!”

Yan ShiSan replied, “Then why doesn’t he come here and say these things himself?”

Raven coldly said, “Even if he was mute, he still has an *ss. Why can’t he let these bullshits out by himself?”

Xiahou Xing’s facial expressions changed.

Yan Shisan continued, “Since he won’t come over, why can’t we go over there?”

Raven replied, “We can.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Should you go? Or should I go?”

Raven replied, “You!”

Yan Shisan said, “It is said that his ‘Lotus Root May Break But Its Fiber Remain Connected, Meteor Shower Filled the Sky’²⁰ Thousand Snakes Sword is not only a good sword, but also a strange sword!”

Raven said, “En.”

Yan Shisan asked, “If he died, who does his sword belong to?”

Raven replied, “Belong to you!”

Yan Shisan asked, “You don’t want that sword?”

Raven replied, “I do!”

Yan ShiSan asked, “Then why are you not eager to fight him?”

Raven said, “Because I’m too lazy to fight with brats like that. He annoys me the second I see him.

Before he could finish, a shadow flashed before his eyes and Xiahou Xing was already standing in front of him. His face was pale and he said coldly, “But the one I want to fight is you!”

Raven replied, “Then draw your sword quickly!”

* * *

Xiahou Xing’s sword already left its sheath.

‘Lotus Root May Break But Its Fiber Remain Connected, Meteor Shower Filled the Sky’ Thousand Snakes Sword.

This was indeed a strange sword.

With a tremble of his hand, the single sword seemed to have transformed into hundreds and thousand of silver snakes, transformed into meteor shower that filled the sky. It seemed to have broken into countless of slices, each slices aiming for the vital points.

Raven’s vital points.

Ravens could fly, but he could not take off. He turned around and a sword light flew out and protected his body.

A “Ka” sound was heard and the thousands of broken swords suddenly merged again and thrust towards his throat. This sword was installed with an ingenious secret mechanism which allowed it be merged together and divided at will. When it was together, the sword was one long sword. When it was divided, it turned into thousands of secret projectiles all linked together by a thin silver wire. When the thin silver wire was contracted, the mechanism activates and it became one single sword again.

Yan ShiSan sighed again and said, “I should have fought this battle. I also want this sword.”

Suddenly, there was a series of “ding ding” noise, like dense rain hitting the window or beads falling into a jade plate.

In this short moment, Raven had also thrust out (seven seven) forty-nine stances, each hitting a fragmented sword piece of the Thousand Snake Sword.

The Thousand Snake Sword immediately softened as if it was a long, silvery whip. Raven’s sword had already wrapped around the tip of the whip. Xiahou Xing’s facial expressions changed. He turned around and leapt into midair. The tip of the whip spun, along with his body, and left Raven’s sword’s hold; with a “Ka” sound it merged into a single sword again.

Yan Shisan immediately interrupted, “Neither of you won this battle, now it’s my turn!”

Xiahou Xing laughed coldly. He looked around in all four directions and his facial expressions suddenly changed again and turned worse than a moment ago.

He suddenly realized that there was one person missing.

The child was lying on the ground, as if someone had sealed his pressure points. But Xue Keren was nowhere to be seen.

XiaHou Xing kicked open his pressure points and fiercely asked, “Who did this?”

The child was pale and replied, “It … it was the Mistress!”

Xiahou Xing asked, “Where is the Mistress?”

The child replied, “The Mistress ran away.”

* * *

The child was still sitting on the ground crying, but XiaHou Xing had already left in pursuit. Yan Shisan and Raven did not stop him.

If a man’s wife suddenly ran away, how does he feel? They could guess what that feels like. However they could never have dreamed that such a gentle and virtuous woman, who admired her husband so much, would suddenly run away while her husband was in a battle of life and death. They seemed like a perfect match, a happy couple; even Yan Shisan felt very envious of them.

Right now, why would she run away?

* * *

Yan ShiSan suddenly felt very sorrowful, not for himself, and definitely not for that young master.

He felt sorrowful for man.

For mankind – Who knew that so many of mankind’s unfortunate, unlucky, and unhappy things were hidden within fortune, luck, and happiness?

Who knew?

* * *

The child crying on the ground had left, but another even younger child ran out smiling merrily. He was not running very fast, but arrived in front of Yan Shisan and Raven in a blink of the eye. He was at most seven or eight years old. No one would believe that a seven or eight year old child could have such qinggong (lightness martial art). Yan Shisan and Raven had no choice but to believe, since they had witnessed this with their own eyes.

This child was also looking at them and smiling. He was smiling adorably.

Raven usually did not like children. He always thought that little children were like kittens and puppies, and a man should walk very far away as soon as he sees them. This time, however, he did not walk away, but asked, “What’s your name?”

The child replied, “I’m Little Nuisance²¹.”

Raven asked, “You’re obviously not a nuisance, why are you called Little Nuisance?”

Little Nuisance replied, “You’re obviously a human, why are you called Raven?”

Raven wanted to laugh, but did not.

Isn’t a raven precisely a nuisance to everyone? How many people in this world love hearing honest and truthful words?

Yan Shisan could not help but ask, “You know he’s called Raven?”

Little Nuisance replied, “What a waste of breath.”

Yan Shisan’s question really was a waste of breath. If Little Nuisance did not know he was called Raven, then why would he call him that?

Little Nuisance said again, “Not only do I know that he’s called The Raven, I also know that you’re called Yan Shisan. It’s because there used to be a man called Yan Qi (Yan Seven) and another called Yan Wu (Yan Five), you felt that you were still a bit stronger than the two of them combined. Therefore you call yourself Yan Shisan (Yan Thirteen).”

Yan Shisan was stunned! This was indeed his intention, and also his secret. He could not guess how this Little Nuisance knew about it.

Little Nuisance said, “To be honest, I really don’t know much about you. I only heard about this from my older sister!”

This was another bit of surprise. The woman who just then walked into the forest together with him actually looked like his mother.

Yan Shisan asked, “Does your sister have a name?”

Little Nuisance replied, “Of course she does.”

Yan Shisan asked, “What’s her name?”

Little Nuisance asked, “Are you mute?”

Yan Shisan shook his head.

Little Nuisance asked, “Do you have legs?”

Yan Shisan lowered his head, as if he really wanted to check if he still had legs.

Little Nuisance said, “Since you have legs and aren’t mute, then why not go ask her yourself?”

Yan Shisan laughed and said, “Because I’m not blind either, I can still see.”

Little Nuisance asked, “See what?”

Yan Shisan pointed to the green silk ribbon on the tree branch, and said, “Since you’re the one who tied this knot, then of course you should know its meaning.”

Little Nuisance replied, “The meaning is, this domain is ours now. If you were not mute, then you’d turn mute once you go in. If you have legs, then you’d lose them once you go in.”


[End of Chapter 3]

------[FOOTNOTE]------
[17] Huoyan Shan (火焰山),i.e. Flaming Mountains, located in TianShan mountain range near Xinjiang.
[18] Xue Keren (薛可人), surname Xue, given name means “likeable/suitable”.
[19] Xiahou Xing (夏侯星), surname Xiahou, given name means “star”.
[20] Chinese text as follow: (藕断丝连，满天星雨), which is only 8 characters. Literally it’s ‘lotus root’ ‘break’ ‘fiber’ ‘connected’ / ‘full’ ‘sky’ ‘star’ ‘rain’. The first 4 character is an expression mainly uses by lover to describe that “we may be apart, but our love remain intact”. The second part is not an expression, it just sounds nice. “Sky full” is self explanatory. “Star rain” is Chinese for meteor shower, which makes sense if you think about it. If you look the sky and it’s “raining star”, that’s pretty much a meteor shower. Though the proper Chinese for meteor shower is “liuxingyu” which is literally “flowing star rain”. Even though they dropped “flowing”, it’s still describing the same thing.
[21] xiao taoyan (小讨厌), xiao = little, taoyan = annoyance/nuisance

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Editor's Note

Nothing really noteworthy. Translation is mainly based off xJadedx translation. Finally don't have to juggle between three different translations. Realized it's too much effort to review three different translations. From ch. 4-6, I primarily stuck with xJadedx and stop to compare if it doesn't sound right.

I spend a while thinking about the couplet in front of Thousand Snake Sword, then just gave up and translate it completely which ended up really long. I considered following xJadedx's translation but the first part was mistranslated. chowbeng's version seemed to had lost a bit of charm; it something like "strong like fiber, numerous like star". kara just gave up...lol. If someone has a nice elegant translation, PM me.

I kept Little Nuisance from xJadedx's translation instead of Despicable Child. I thought the former is a closer translation. It's just "despicable child" sounds really harsh and the word child was not part of the Chinese text.

Originally translated by xJadedx, and kara. Edited by kaister.

Chapter 4
The Love and Hatred of a Foolish Woman


Yan Shisan did not argue, nor did he want to argue. These were the rules of the Four Great Noble Families of Wulin, and were recognized by default by all people of Jianghu. Unless one harbored deep bitter hatred, no one wished to break these rules.

Those who wished to mingle in Jianghu should usually more or less follow some of its rules. Even Yan Shisan was not an exception.

Little Nuisance said, “Unfortunately, even though you understand everything, there is one thing that you don’t understand.”

Yan Shisan replied, “Oh?”

Little Nuisance said, “Now, you have to go in even if you don’t want to.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Why?”

Little Nuisance replied, “Because right now it was my sister who told me to come and tell you to go inside.”

* * *

It was peaceful and quiet inside the forest. Even the sound of footsteps on the fallen leaves was gentle. Autumn became deeper as he arrived into the depth of the forest.

Raven did not come with him —

“Because my sister only wants to see him alone.”

Why did she want to see him? Furthermore, why did she want to see him alone? Yan Shisan could not fathom, thus he needed not to keep thinking.

He already could see her.

* * *

A new mat was spread out underneath an old tree, which its leaves were already withered yellow. On the mat were a zither, an incense pot, and a bottle of wine.

— These were clearly left here by Xiahou Xing. It was obvious that he was in a great hurry when he had left here.

— Was he perhaps chased away by this melancholy woman who was at this moment sitting underneath the tree?

She not only looked melancholy but also frail, as if she could never again handle even the slightest of attack.

Yan Shisan walked over. He gently walked over, as if he was afraid to alarm her. She, however, already looked up and stared at him with her clear pair of eyes, “So you’re Life Snatching Yan Shisan?

Yan Shisan nodded and said, “Is the lady from Emerald Cloud Peak?”

He recognized that the emerald green silk ribbon outside was the symbol of Emerald Cloud Mountain and Green Water Lake. However, she unexpectedly shook her head. Yan ShiSan really could not believe how someone who was not Emerald Cloud Peak could dare to use the symbol of Emerald Cloud Peak.

“I’m from the Seven Star Pond of Jiangnan.”

Her voice was also very frail, “My name is Murong Qiudi²².”

Yan Shisan was even more surprised. The Seven Star Pond of Jiangnan was also one of the Four Great Noble Families of Wulin.

Murong Qiudi was not only a famous beauty in Jianghu, but was also a famous pious daughter. To take care of her sickly parents, she had declined countless of marriage proposals, and had also sacrificed the most beautiful years of her life. Why did she suddenly appear here now? Could it be that the master of the Seven Star Pond, the “Gallant of Jiangnan” Murong Zheng²³ had already passed away?

The reputation of Seven Star Pond was not beneath that of the Emerald Cloud Peak, so why would she steal someone else’s symbol?

Murong Qiudi, as if she had already guessed what he was thinking, suddenly spoke, “My father is not dead. Although he is very sick, he will not die for at least three to five years.”

Yan ShiSan sighed in relief, and replied, “Hopefully he will be healthy and can still live for a few more years.”

Murong Qiudi said, “This time I slipped out in secret, he doesn’t know.”

Yan Shisan could not help but want to ask: “Why?”

But before he could ask, Murong Qiudi already continued, “Because I want to kill someone.”

An indescribable sorrow and hatred suddenly appeared in her melancholy eyes.

She must truly despise this man – but who was this man?

Yan Shisan dared not to ask and did not want to ask. He did not want to bother with the affairs of the Four Great Noble Families of Wulin.

Murong Qiudi’s gaze seemed to stare into the distance and her body seemed to have left for a distant place as well. After a long time, she finally slowly continued, “You must all know that I’m a pious daughter.”

Yan Shisan acknowledged.

Murong Qiudi said, “During these past seven years, I had already declined the marriage proposals of forty-three men.”

Those who had the qualifications to come to Seven Star Pond to propose were obviously all sons from reputable families in Jianghu.

Murong Qiudi asked, “Do you know why I declined them?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because you couldn’t bear to leave your father.”

Murong Qiudi said, “You’re wrong.”

Yan Shisan said, “Oh?”

Murong Qiudi said, “I’m not actually that pious daughter others think of me as, I…I…”

She suddenly forcefully clenched her hands, and said, “I am just a liar. Not only did I lie to others, I also lied to myself.”

Yan Shisan was dumbfounded. He dared not to look at her again, her eyes were red and her tears could come pouring down at any moment.

He did not want to see a woman shed tears, nor did he want to know the reasons why women shed tears.

Unfortunately, she just had to tell him.

“I declined others’ marriage proposals, only because I was always waiting for him to come propose.”

Who was “him”? Was he the one she wanted to kill?

Murong Qiudi’s tears finally started pouring down, “He promised me that he would definitely come. He promised many times.”

— But he did not come.

— A heartless man, using marriage as bait, deceived a sentimental girl.

— This tragedy did not belong solely to her.

— Since the ancient times, this kind of tragedy must’ve happened unknown amount of times, even till now this can still happen anytime and anywhere.

Yan Shisan did not feel sad for her, because only a tragedy that has befallen to himself is a true tragedy. Thus, it was difficult for other people’s tragedies to move someone like Yan Shisan.

Murong Qiudi said, “I met him when I was sixteen. He told me to wait for him for seven years.”

Seven years! What a long period of time.

From sixteen to twenty-three, what a beautiful period of time in a woman’s life.

How many of these seven years are there in a person’s life? Yan Shisan’s heart already began to sigh.

— When he asked you to wait for him for seven years, he was already deceiving you.

— He thought you definitely would not wait that long, thought you would’ve already forgotten him after seven years.

Yan Shisan was a man, thus obviously he understood the heart of a man but he did not say this. He could tell what kind of pain and torture, what kind of bitter experience these seven long years must have been for her.

Murong Qiudi said, “That child you saw earlier is not actually my little brother.”

Yan Shisan asked, “He’s not?”

Murong Qiudi explained, “He’s my son. The illegitimate son I have with that man.”

Yan Shisan was shocked. Only now did he understand why she had to wait seven years, why she despised that man. Now, even he felt sorrowful for her.

Murong Qiudi said, “I told you these things not so that you could feel bad for me.”

Her voice suddenly turned very cold, and her melancholy eyes also suddenly looked as sharp as the tip of a knife.

She coldly continued, “I want you to kill a man for me.”

Yan Shisan asked, “That man?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Yes!”

Yan Shisan said, “I only kill two types of people.”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Those who are your enemies?”

Yan ShiSan nodded, and said, “And one more, those who want to kill me.”

He slowly continued, “Therefore I hope you can understand one thing.”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Go ahead.”

Yan Shisan said, “If you must kill someone, then you must do it with your own hands. A knot you tied can only be untied by you.”

Murong Qiudi replied, “But I cannot.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Why?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Because … because I don’t want to see him again.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Is it because you’re afraid that if you see his face, you won’t have the heart to kill him?”

Murong Qiudi’s hands clenched tightly again.

Yan Shisan sighed and said, “Since you don’t have the heart to, then why must you kill him?”

Murong Qiudi stared at him and suddenly said, “I also hope that you can understand one thing.”

Yan Shisan replied, “Say it.”

Murong Qiudi said, “I must kill this man, and furthermore you must be the one who kill him!”

Yan Shisan asked, “Why?”

Murong Qiudi said, “Because this man’s name is Xie Xiaofeng²⁴.”

Yan Shisan’s facial expressions changed, and he said, “The master of the Green Water Lake, Xie Xiaofeng?”

Murong Qiudi said, “That’s him!”

* * *

A very large plaque hung in the great hall of the Divine Sword Manor at the Green Water Lake in the Emerald Cloud Peak. On the plaque were only five words – golden words.

“The world’s number one sword.”

This was not the owners themselves boasting. This was many years ago, after all the famous swordsmen in the martial world had finished discussing the sword at the top of Mount Hua²⁵, each person took out a tael of gold and cast them into these five words, and gave it as a gift to Xie Tian²⁶.

Xie Tian was the first generation master of the Divine Sword Manor. This was history from a very, very long ago. Although the brightness of the golden words on the plaque was still eye-catching, the reputation of “the world’s number one sword” no longer remained. During the past few centuries, famous swordsmen poured out into the martial world, and no one could be unanimously declared the world’s number one sword.

The glory of Divine Sword Manor gradually faded from magnificent and returned to being ordinary, until this generation — because this generation, the Divine Sword Manor had produced another extraordinary talent, a rare prodigy, who caught the world’s attention.

Thirteen years ago, this man had already defeated Hua Yukun¹⁷, the number one swordsman of the Mount Hua Sect.

It seemed as if from the moment he was born, he brought forth all the blessings and favours from the gods above. The honours and love he received after he was born were even less matched by others. He was the long awaited swordsman of the martial world, and also the generally acknowledged talent in the martial world.

He was intelligent and handsome, healthy and strong, and was an honest and chivalrous man. None was able to find a single shortcoming or a single flaw in his life.

This man was the third young master of the “Divine Sword Manor” at the Green Water Lake.

This man was Xie Xiaofeng.

* * *

It was even quieter in the forest. The cool dry air was filled with the fragrance of the leaves.

Yan Shisan seemed to have completely lost his feelings. After he had heard these three words, even his breathing seemed to have stopped. After a long time, he finally gently sighed, and said, “I know this man.”

Murong Qiudi said, “Of course you should know. You two still have an appointment of death, which is eternal until you meet!”

Yan Shisan had to admit, “I had indeed made an appointment to meet him.”

Murong Qiudi asked, “You never change your appointments?”

Yan Shisan said, “Never.”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Then this appointment may very likely be your last appointment.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Oh?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “I have seen your swordplay. You’re definitely not his match.”

Yan Shisan laughed bitterly, “Since you already know, why would you still ask me to kill him?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Because you have met me.”

Yan Shisan said, “You …”

Murong Qiudi replied, “His swordplay is of the highest quality, and has almost surpassed the limits of swordplay.”

Yan Shisan sighed, and said, “He truly is a genius. I had also seen him strike.”

Murong Qiudi asked, “Have you also recognized the flaw in his swordplay?”

Yan Shisan replied, “There is no flaw in his swordplay, none at all.”

Murong Qiudi replied, “There is.”

Yan ShiSan asked, “Really?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Definitely, only one.”

Yan Shisan asked, “You know which one?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Only I know.”

Yan Shisan’s eyes shined. He believed that she was not telling a lie. If there existed one person in the world who could know the flaw in the swordplay of the Third Young Master, then that person had to be her.

Because they were once lovers. At least during the brief moment when they had that child, their souls no doubt were completely connected. Only a person who had truly been in love with him could know his secret.

For a swordsman who was unmatched by anyone in the world, his biggest secret was the flaw in his swordplay.

Not only did Yan Shisan’s eyes shined, his heart also beat faster. He was also a man who practiced the sword. He had also devoted his entire life and love to his sword. This was already not only a great devotion, but was also an extremely bitter sacrifice. This sacrifice was not completely without a cost.

The brief moment of splendid radiance in the moment of victory was enough to light up his life. His goal of practicing the sword was to seek victory, not to seek death.

Absolutely not!

If there was an opportunity for victory, then who would be willing to abandon it?

* * *

Murong Qiudi looked at his shining eyes, and clearly saw that he had been moved. She immediately continued, “In this world, only I can help you defeat him, and only you can help me kill him.”

Yan ShisSan asked, “Why only me?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Because in your Life-Snatching Thirteen Sword, there is one stance that if slightly altered, you could put him in his deathtrap!”

Yan Shisan asked, “Which sword stance is it?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “The fourteenth sword stance.”

* * *

It was obviously called Life Snatching Thirteen Sword, how could there be a fourteenth stance? Other people would definitely not understand.

Yan Shisan understood.

Although the Life Snatching Thirteen Sword had only thirteen stances, there were fourteen transformations. That transformation was truly the essence of his stances and the soul of his swordplay. Although the soul is invisible, no one could deny its existence!

Murong Qiudi suddenly stood up. She still looked so delicate and so weak, but her eyes again shined that light as if it was the tip of a knife. She stared at Yan Shisan and said word for word, “Right now I have already become Xie Xiaofeng.” After she had said these eight words, her eyes suddenly had an intimidating killing aura! A kind of killing aura that only highly skilled masters who have killed countless of people could have.

— Could it be that this delicate and weak gentlewoman from such a reputable family has also killed a person before? How many people did she kill?

Yan Shisan did not ask, nor was there a need to ask. He could tell.

Murong Qiudi broke off a withered tree branch and said, “This is my sword.”

Her body changed again after this piece of withered tree branch got into her hand. That all-conquering, uncontainable killing aura was not only in her eyes, but also in her body. It was everywhere!

Murong Qiudi replied, “Now you watch, and watch carefully. This is the only flaw in his swordplay.”

* * *

A gust of wind blew by. The wind was suddenly very cold.

Her body and sword have already begun to move. An extremely slow, extremely beautiful movement, as natural as the wind.

But who could withstand it when the wind finished blowing? And who could tell where the wind was blowing from?

Yan Shisan’s pupils were contracting.

Her sword had already very, very slowly thrust out.

It thrust out from the most inconceivable place, and when it was thrust out it suddenly had the most inconceivable transformation. But within this transformation there was indeed a small flaw.

— When the gale swept across the ground, was it difficult to avoid missing a spot?

— But when a gale blew over, who could pay attention to these spots?

Yan Shisan suddenly realized that cold sweats were secreted in the middle of his palms.

Just then, her movement stopped.

She coldly stared at Yan Shisan and asked, “Have you already discovered it now?”

Yan Shisan nodded.

Murong Qiudi said, “You can discover it, only because my movement was twenty-four times slower than when he strikes.”

Yan Shisan believed that her calculations were absolutely correct.

A true highly skilled master’s estimation towards the speed of swordplay was certainly ten times more accurate than the pawnshop owner’s estimation towards the price of goods.

Murong Qiudi said, “When I strike in real life, although I’m a bit slower than him, I’m not that much slower.”

Yan Shisan had to believe. By now he had discovered that this delicate and weak woman was truly a highly skilled master that he had rarely seen in his life.

Murong Qiudi said, “Now I’m going to strike.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Who are you striking against?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “You.”

Yan Shisan lightly sighed, and said, “Do you want to see if I can break through this sword stance?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Yes.”

Yan Shisan asked, “If I break through this sword stance, doesn’t that mean you would die under my sword?”

Murong Qiudi replied, “You don’t have to worry about that.”

Yan Shisan said, “What if I still cannot break through this sword stance …”

Murong Qiudi replied, “Then you’d have to die!”

She coldly continued, “If you still can’t break through this sword stance, then you’d be no good alive to either of us, so I have no choice but to kill you!”


[End of Chapter 4]

-------[FOOTNOTE]-------
[22] Murong Qiudi (慕容秋荻), surname Murong, given name means “autumn reed”.
[23] Murong Zheng (慕容正), surname Murong, given name means “just/upright”.
[24] Xie Xiaofeng (谢晓峰), surname Xie means thanks or wither, given name means “know peak”.
[25] Huashan (华山), Mt. Hua located at Shanxi province, one of China’s five great mountains. Literally means “splendid mountain”.
[26] Xie Tian (谢天), surname Xie, given name means “sky”.
[27] Hua Yukun (华玉坤), surname Hua, given name mean “jade earth(Eight Trigrams)“.

click to show/hide spoilers

Notes

When Xie Xiaofeng defeated Hua Yukun, both kara and xJadedx translation mentioned his age afterward. However, both of my sources do not have this text. I’m using an online source and a 1999 Taiwanese published book. I’m dropping this text unless I can verify the source. Regardless xJaded has him 31 years old and kara has him at 13 years old. I checked the text a couple of time and his age was never mentioned.

•Update: Found out it's actually 31, presumably this was HYK's age and not XXF's.

Originally translated by xJadedx, and kara. Edited by kaister

Chapter 5
The Lion Opening Its Mouth


They were silent, and the forest was quiet.

Yan Shisan stared at the withered tree branch in her hand, as if he was deep in thought.

Murong Qiudi asked, “Why have you still not drawn your sword?”

Yan Shisan replied, “My sword’s in my hands. I can draw it at any time. What about you?”

Murong Qiudi said, “This is my sword.”

Yan Shisan replied, “It’s not.”

Murong Qiudi said, “In my hands, this becomes a killing weapon.”

Yan Shisan replied, “I know that you can use it to kill, but it’s still just a piece of withered tree branch in itself.”

Murong Qiudi said, “As long as it can kill, is there a difference between a withered tree branch and a sword?”

Yan Shisan replied, “There is.”

Murong Qiudi said, “Tell me.”

Yan Shisan replied, “It can kill, but it had not killed before. My sword, however, is different.”

He gently stroked his sword, “This sword has accompanied me for nineteen years. There are already sixty-three men who died under this sword.”

Murong Qiudi said, “I know that you have killed quite a few people.”

Yan Shisan continued, “This originally was only a very plain sword. But now it has already drank the blood of sixty-three men, sixty-three ruthless killers, sixty-three evil spirits and wronged souls.”

He was still gently stroking his sword, and slowly continued, “It is as if this sword now has a life of its own, and desires to taste others’ blood, and desires others to die under its sword tip.”

Murong Qiudi laughed coldly, “It told you this?”

Yan Shisan replied, “It didn’t, but I can feel it.”

Murong Qiudi asked, “Feel what?”

Yan ShiSan replied, “As long as it leaves its sheath, then it must kill. Sometimes even I myself cannot control it.”

He was not telling an unsubstantial myth. If you also had a sword like this, and if you also had killed sixty-three men, then surely you would also have this kind of feeling.

Yan Shisan again stared at the withered tree branch in her hand, and said, “This piece of withered tree branch in your hand, however, is dead. It would never have the desire to kill, and you yourself also don’t really want to kill me.”

He lifted up his head and stared into her eyes, and continued, “Because you’re also simply not Xie Xiaofeng.”

Murong Qiudi’s lips were beginning to turn pale.

A piece of fallen leaf floated down. She silently stood up and asked, “Right now is this leaf also dead?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Yes.”

Murong Qiudi said, “But just now it was still on a tree branch, and was still alive.”

As long as the leaf did not yet wither and fall, then it would still have life!

Murong Qiudi asked again, “Can it be that a person’s life is also like this leaf?”

Yan Shisan replied, “I understand your meaning.”

Murong Qiudi asked, “Do you really understand?”

Yan Shisan replied, “To bear that child, you must have suffered through many hardships. Therefore your love for him absolutely cannot compare with the hatred in your heart.”

Murong Qiudi did not deny.

Yan Shisan continued, “Therefore you already are not at all reluctant to part with your own life. So as long as I can break through this sword stance, even if you’d die under my sword, you’d still be willing to.”

He let out a long sigh and said again, “But you’re wrong.”

Murong Qiudi asked, “I’m wrong?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because even if I could break through your sword stance, I still may not be able to break through Xie Xiaofeng’s sword.”

He looked into her eyes, “Because you are not using a killing sword, and you’re also not Xie Xiaofeng.”

Murong Qiudi’s suddenly lowered her hand, the killing aura suddenly disappeared, and the tears already streamed down her face.

Yan Shisan said, “But I promise you, as long as I have a chance, I will certainly kill him!”

Murong Qiudi’s spirits rose again, and she asked, “How much certainty do you think you have?”

Yan Shisan laughed bitterly, “Originally I didn’t even have ten percent certainty!”

Murong Qiudi asked, “What about now?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Now I have at least forty to fifty percent certainty.”

Murong Qiudi asked, “You have already figured out the breakthrough method?”

Yan Shisan suddenly also broke off a withered tree branch and replied, “Take a look.” His movements were simple yet awkward, but a light appeared in Murong Qiudi’s eyes.

She knew that he already figured it out. If Third Young Master’s swordplay were a lock, then he had already found the key to open the lock.

One sword strike pierced out, and a gust of wind blew by.

The withered tree branch in Yan Shisan’s hand suddenly turned into dust, and in the blink of an eye was blown away without a trace.

If his hand were holding a sword, then what kind of force would this one sword strike have been!

Murong Qiudi gently sighed, slowly sat down, and said, “You can go.”

* * *

When Yan Shisan walked out of the forest, Little Nuisance was still strolling outside.

Little Nuisance was the only person there. His left hand held onto a chicken drumstick, and his mouth was chewing on a pear. There weren’t any stalls in the surroundings that sold fruits or salted dishes, so it was not known where he had gotten these things.

As soon as Yan Shisan saw this child, he was fond of him. When he thought of his life story, he felt even more sympathetic. Luckily this child now seemed to be able to take care of himself very well. Little Nuisance was just staring at him with his pair of big eyes.

Yan Shisan walked over and patted his head, and said, “You should go back soon, your sister’s waiting for you.”

Little Nuisance asked, “What’s she waiting for me for?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because … because she cares about you.”

Little Nuisance asked, “Why is she caring about me for?”

Yan Shisan asked, “Do you think that there was never anyone who cared about you?”

Little Nuisance said, “Never, not even half a person. I’m a little nuisance, so there are quite a few people who are annoyed with me though.”

He took another bite of the chicken drumstick and continued, “But I am not bother by it.”

Yan Shisan looked at those sweet little cheeks of his, and suddenly felt some grief in his heart.

There was not even a trace of another person around. He could not help but ask again, “Where’s that friend of mine?”

Little Nuisance replied, “What friend of yours?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Raven!”

Little Nuisance said, “There are no ravens in this forest, only sparrows.”

Yan Shisan replied, “I meant that man who was just with me, whose name is Raven!”

Little Nuisance blinked, and asked, “Did you pay me any safeguard fees, and asked me to safeguard him?”

Yan Shisan replied, “No!”

Little Nuisance said, “Since you didn’t, why are you asking me?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because … because I think that you surely must know where he went.”

Little Nuisance said, “Of course I know. But why do I have to tell you?”

Yan Shisan could only laugh bitterly. This child’s questions often left him speechless.

Little Nuisance took another bite of the pear, and suddenly said, “But it’s not like I certainly won’t tell you.”

Yan Shisan asked, “How can I make you tell me?”

Little Nuisance replied, “If you have to ask me questions, then you should more or less pay me some questioning fee.”

Yan ShiSan was already feeling into his pockets. But after feeling around for a long time, he could not feel anything.

Little Nuisance said, “Even though you appear to be dressed decently, could it be that you’re nothing but a hollow shell?”

Yan Shisan laughed bitterly, “Because no one has ever asked to collect questioning fee from me.”

Little Nuisance sighed and said, “Since I can’t press any oil from the wood, then I can only admit to having bad luck. You just write a debt bill then.”

Yan Shisan asked, “A debt bill?”

Little Nuisance said, “If you want to ask questions, then you must pay a questioning fee. You don’t have money now, but you will later.”

Yan Shisan asked, “There are no paper or pen here, how can I write this debt bill?”

Little Nuisance said, “Use your sword to scrape off a tree bark, and then use your sword to write the words onto the tree bark.”

Yan Shisan laughed bitterly, “You are really thoughtful.”

His only choice was to write!

“How much should I write?”

Little Nuisance said, “One word you’d have to write, ten words you’d still have to write. Since it’s a debt bill, then you should write a bit more.”

His eyes turned a bit and continued, “You just casually write me ten thousand taels then.”

Yan Shisan looked at him, carefully looked him up and down several times.

A seven years old child asked for ten thousand taels as soon as he opened his mouth. How is it going to be when this child grows up?

Little Nuisance said, “I know you’re probably thinking right now, if I’m already so good at taking advantage of others now, what’s it going to be like when I grow up?”

Yan Shisan asked, “How did you know I was thinking that?”

Little Nuisance said, “Because I don’t know how many people have already asked me these questions.”

Yan Shisan asked, “How do you answer?”

Little Nuisance said, “If I’m good at taking advantage of others now, then obviously I’d be a man of great wealth when I grow up. Can’t you even understand such simple reasoning?”

Yan Shisan laughed. He really laughed, this child really knew how to take care of himself.

If a child, who did not have anyone else to take care of him, could not even take care of himself, then that would truly be disastrous.

Thus, the debt bill Yan ShiSan wrote was not for ten thousand taels, but for fifty thousand taels.

Little Nuisance laughed and said, “You’re asked for ten thousand, but gave fifty thousand. Although you seem to be poor, your spending habit is quite big.”

Yan Shisan asked, “How can a person with small spending habits be poor?”

Little Nuisance said, “Good point.”

Yan Shisan replied, “If it’s a good point, then you should remember it. If you don’t want to be poor, then you can’t have extravagant spending habits, and definitely should not randomly spend money.”

Little Nuisance said, “What’s the point of not spending money if you have it? What’s the difference between that and not having money?”

Yan Shisan laughed again. He really was very fond of this child, but he had not thought of another point – he also really wanted to kill this child’s father. Really wanted to.

* * *

So this was a man of Jianghu.

The thoughts of a man of Jianghu often baffle others!

* * *

A debt bill for fifty thousand taels, a debt bill that definitely was collectable. Little Nuisance, however, casually stuffed it into his pockets, as if he thought that it was a piece of scrap paper.

Yan Shisan said, “Although I have no money now, I could have money at any time.”

Little Nuisance said, “I can tell, otherwise why would I accept your debt bill?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Any time you see me, you can collect the money from me.”

Little Nuisance said, “I know.”

Yan Shisan replied, “Therefore you should keep this piece of paper safely, so you won’t lose it.”

Little Nuisance said, “If I lost it then just consider it as your good fortune and my bad luck. Then it’s alright, nothing special.”

He blinked again and said, “It’s just like if you died very soon, then I can only admit to bad luck. People like you could die at any time anyway.”

Yan Shisan laughed loudly.

He was really laughing, but what really was he feeling in his heart? Who knew?

— Could it be that people in Jianghu just like the leave in the wind, the duckweed in the water?

After he finished laughing, Little Nuisance finally said, “That friend of yours went to the back of that hill in front of us!”

Yan Shisan asked, “What did he go there to do?”

Little Nuisance said, “It seemed that he went to a battle of life and death!”

Yan Shisan asked, “A battle of life and death?! With who?”

Little Nuisance said, “It seemed to be with a guy called something Bing.”

Was it Cao Bing?

Could it be that he had followed them the entire time? Could it be that the bills on this trip were all paid by him? Then why would he now engage in a battle of life and death with Raven? Yan Shisan was not worried about Raven; he knew that Cao Bing would never be a match for Raven.

But he was wrong.

* * *

The grass on the back of the hill was already withered, but the blood was still bright red.

It was Raven’s blood. The Raven had already fallen, fallen onto the hill. The blood coloured the autumn grass red, and also coloured his shirt red.

The blood flowed from in between his collarbones beneath his throat; its distance from his throat was only three inches. It was only because it missed by these three inches that he was still alive.

Who was the one that injured him?

Yan Shisan walked over, “Was it Cao Bing?”

Raven nodded. Yan Shisan looked at him surprised, and asked, “Did you let him on purpose?”

Raven shook his head.

Yan Shisan was even more surprised. Although this was obviously the truth, he still could not believe it!

Raven laughed bitterly, “I know you don’t believe it. Not even I believe it. I saw that guy’s strikes before.”

Yan Shisan said, “But you …”

Raven said, “I originally was certain that I could make him fall within three stances. I was absolutely certain.”

Yan Shisan replied, “But the one who has fallen now is you!”

Raven said, “That is only because I was wrong!”

Yan Shisan asked, “Where did you go wrong?”

Raven said, “I’ve seen him strike before, and I had already clearly understood the transformations of his swordplay. Diancang Sect’s swordplay could never hurt a hair on my body.”

Yan Shisan replied, “He did not use Diancang swordplay?”

Raven said, “Definitely not.”

Yan Shisan asked, “What swordplay did he use?”

Raven said, “I don’t know.”

Yan Shisan replied, “Even you can’t tell?”

Raven said, “The transformation of that one stance, not only couldn’t I tell, I couldn’t even thought of it.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Which one stance? He only used one stance and you already were injured under his sword?”

Raven coldly said, “If it was you, you also would not have been able to take on that stance.”

He suddenly let out a long sigh, and said, “Until now, I still cannot think of who there is that can take on that one stance?”

Yan Shisan did not open his mouth again, but his body already was already in motion.


[End of Chapter 5]

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Editor's Note

Straight xJadedx’s translation. Only a few subtle changes and corrections, don't remember most of them.

One mistake I do remember
yicheng = 10%
siwucheng = 40-50%

xJadedx has 1%, 4-5%. Interestingly kara 1% and 40-50% somehow.

Originally translated by xJadedx and kara. Edited by kaister.

Chapter 6
Sudden Fortune With Women


— A kind of extremely slow and extremely graceful movement, as natural as the wind. Then his sword slowly thrust out, out from the most unimaginable place, and after it thrust out it suddenly again had the most unimaginable transformation.

Raven looked at him in surprise, and suddenly shouted, “That’s right! This is the stance he used!”

* * *

The autumn grass was withered yellow, and the blood was also dried. Yan Shisan sat down silently, sitting on the hill across from The Raven.

Raven could not help but asked, “How do you know this stance?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because only when he used this stance could he defeat you!”

Raven said, “This is definitely not Diancang swordplay, and also is definitely not your swordplay!”

Yan Shisan replied, “Of course not.”

Raven asked, “Whose stance is this?”

Yan Shisan replied, “You should be able to guess.”

Raven asked, “This is Third Young Master’s swordplay?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Who else but him?”

Raven replied, “There is at least still you, and Cao Bing!”

Yan Shisan laughed bitterly. He could not imagine that Cao Bing had secretly learned this stance. At that time they were all too focused, and did not notice at all that there were still other people in the forest. It was even harder for him to imagine that Cao Bing would use Raven to test his sword.

He could only think of one thing —

The person that Cao Bing was going to go find next definitely had to be Xie Xiaofeng. The third young master Xie Xiaofeng of the Divine Sword Manor.

* * *

What kind of people did Yan Shisan meet in the forest? How did they learn the brilliant swordplay of the Third Young Master? Raven did not ask any of these questions, he already understood this man Yan Shisan very well.

“If you want to go to the Divine Sword Manor, then hurry. I’ll stay.”

Yan Shisan indeed was very anxious to go. Since Cao Bing had secretly learned the stance of the Third Young Master, then surely he had secretly learned his stance as well.

He really did not want another person to use his swordplay to break through that stance by the Third Young Master. This was originally supposed to be his honour and right. Even if he could not break through that stance, the one who should die also should be him.

“But you’re already wounded, if you stay here by yourself …”

He could not help but to worry about Raven. A Raven really was not a kind of bird that was liked by people, and also definitely was not a person who was welcomed.

There must be quite a few people who wanted to kill Raven.

Raven, however, was laughing coldly and said, “Don’t you worry. I’m not going to die. The one you should worry about is yourself.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Myself?”

Raven replied, “It’s not really far from here to Green Water Lake. Throughout this trip there won’t be anyone to pay your bills for you anymore.”

Cao Bing definitely had already found the fastest and most comfortable carriage, and definitely took the quickest path. A penniless man who want to rush ahead of Cao Bing relying only on his two legs, by the time he reached the Divine Sword Manor, the only person he could still defeat would perhaps only be himself.

Raven said, “Unless your luck is exceptionally good, you can very soon meet a rich person riding a fast horse; first rob his money, and then take his horse.”

Yan Shisan laughed, and replied, “Don’t you worry. It’s not like I won’t do this kind of thing.”

Raven also laughed.

The two of them suddenly reached out and firmly gripped their hands at the same time.

Raven said, “You hurry and go. As long as you don’t die, I promise that you would definitely meet me again.”

Yan Shisan replied, “If I died, I’d certainly tell someone to give my sword to you.”

Raven said, “Didn’t you say that a person who would die soon usually has exceptionally good luck?”

Yan Shisan replied, “I said that.”

Raven said, “Looks like your luck is arriving again now.”

* * *

What arrived was a horse carriage.

A fast horse and light carriage was coming very fast. Just as they heard the wheels turning and the horse whinnying, the carriage drove out from behind the hill.

Raven said, “I believe that you definitely can do this kind of thing.”

Yan Shisan replied, “Obviously.”

Although his words were tough, in reality, when it really came to the time to commit such a thing, he was taken aback.

He really did not know how he should make his move. He suddenly discovered that being a robber also was not as easy a thing as he had previously imagined.

Watching helplessly as the carriage had already passed over their sides, he still did not have a single intention of making his move.

Raven frowned and said, “There would never be a second time for this kind of good luck.”

Yan Shisan replied, “Perhaps I …”

He had not yet finished his sentence when the carriage unexpectedly stopped in front of them.

He did not make his move, and the carriage unexpectedly stopped by itself. A hoarse yet strange voice said from inside the carriage, “Those who are in a hurry with their journey, please step inside the carriage!”

Raven looked at Yan Shisan. Yan Shisan also looked at Raven.

Raven said, “Those with exceptionally good luck might not really die soon.”

Yan Shisan laughed loudly.

The carriage door was opened and he leapt onto the carriage, laughing loudly he waved, “As long as I don’t die, I also promise that you definitely would meet me again, even if you don’t want to meet again, you’ll have no choice.”

* * *

Who exactly was the person in the carriage?

* * *

A light carriage and a fast horse. Inside the clean and comfortable carriage, there was only one person wearing a wide black robe. The head was wrapped with a black handkerchief and the face was covered in a black cloth.

Yan Shisan sat down across from him, and only asked one question, “Can you take me to Emerald Cloud Mountain, Green Water Lake as fast as possible?”

“Can.”

After he heard this word, Yan Shisan shut his mouth, and even shut his eyes. He originally had many questions that he should ask, but he, however, did not even ask one. He was not a curious person.

This black-clothed person, however, was obviously a bit curious about him. Their pair of eyes was semi exposed out of the black cloth, and was staring at him the entire time. This pair of eyes was very bright.

* * *

The carriage was going very fast. Yan Shisan kept his eyes shut the entire time, and it was not known if he had fallen asleep.

He did not fall asleep. Because when the black-clothed person took out a bottle of wine from underneath the carriage cushion and began to drink, his throat also began to move.

A sleeping person could not smell the fragrance of wine. A trace of smile appeared in the eyes of the black-clothed person, he handed over the wine bottle and said, “Do you want a couple of sips?”

Of course he did.

When Yan Shisan reached out his hand to take the bottle, it was just like the way a drowning person grabbed onto a floating log in the water.

But his eyes still have not opened. If he opened his eyes and looked, he would discover that the hands of this black-clothed person were also very good-looking. No matter how delicate a man is, they would still rarely have such a pair of hands. To be honest, even women very rarely have such good-looking hands. Slender and elegant fingers, its skin as soft and smooth as silk and satin!

When Yan ShiSan gave the wine bottle back – of course it was an almost empty wine bottle – he touched this pair of hands. As long as he still had a bit of feelings, he should be able to feel the softness, smoothness and elegance of this pair of hands. But it seemed as if he did not even have a bit of feelings.

The black-clothed person stared him for a long time again, and suddenly asked, “Are you a human being?”

His voice was still so hoarse yet strange. Someone with such a pair of hands really should not have such a voice.

Yan Shisan’s reply was very simple!

“I’m a human being!”

“Are you a live human?”

“Till now I still am!”

The black-clothed person said, “But you don’t want to know who I am?”

Yan Shisan replied, “I know that you’re also a human being, and definitely are also live human.”

The black-clothed person asked, “And this is sufficient?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Very sufficient.”

The black-clothed person said, “My carriage is not stolen, nor is my wine stolen. Why would I invite you into the carriage for no reason at all, and take you to Green Water Lake, and invite you to drink wine too?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because you’re happy to!”

The black-clothed person was shocked for a long time, and suddenly started giggling. Now her voice changed, and changed to be lovely and pleasant to hear. Now anyone could tell that she was a woman, and was certainly a very attractive woman.

Men usually liked to look at an attractive woman.

The black-clothed person asked, “You don’t want to see who I am?”

Yan Shisan replied, “No!”

The black-clothed person asked, “Why not?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because I don’t want to ask for any troubles.”

The black-clothed person asked, “You know that I have troubles?”

Yan Shisan replied, “A person who invites someone into their carriage to drink wine for no reason at all, usually more or less have some issues.”

The black-clothed person asked, “Is it having issues, or is it having troubles?”²⁸

Yan Shisan replied, “A person who has issues usually more or less has some troubles.”

The black-clothed person laughed again, the sound of her laughter was even more pleasant to hear, “Perhaps after you have looked at me, you would feel that even if you get into some troubles because of me, it’s still worth it.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Oh?”

The black-clothed person replied, “Because I’m a woman, and also very attractive.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Oh?”

The black-clothed person replied, “A very attractive woman usually wishes for others to look at her.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Oh?”

The black-clothed person replied, “If others rejected her, then she would certainly feel it’s a kind of insult, and would certainly be sad.”

She gently sighed and said, “When a woman is sad and feeling unhappy, she would often do some strange things!”

Yan Shisan asked, “What things for example?”

The black-clothed person replied, “For example, perhaps she would suddenly chase the guest, whom she invited herself, off of the carriage!”

Yan Shisan also began to sigh. When he began to sigh, he had already opened his eyes – but immediately shut them again in a flash, as if he had suddenly seen a ghost. Because what he saw was no longer a person whose body was covered completely from top to bottom in black clothing.

Obviously what he saw was not a ghost either. No matter in heaven or hell, one could not find such an attractive ghost. What he saw was a woman.

A naked woman, not a single piece of clothing was on her entire body from top to bottom, not even a black cloth or a white cotton print.

Only silk and satin. The skin on her entire body was as soft, smooth, and beautiful as silk and satin.

* * *

Yan Shisan’s original name obviously was not really Yan Shisan, but his original name also definitely was not Lu Nanzi²⁹, and most definitely not Liuxia Hui³⁰.

He had seen women before. He had seen all styles and kinds of women; some were wearing clothes, and also some who were not wearing clothes.

Some originally were wearing clothes, but later on took them off and some even took them off very fast.

A naked woman originally would never cause him to be so surprised. He was surprised, not because he thought that this woman was too beautiful, and also not because her waist was too slender and her breasts were too ample.

And of course even less because of her pair of slender and firm, beautifully curved legs. These things could only make his heart beat, but could not surprise him.

He was surprised, only because this woman was someone he had seen before. In fact, he had seen her just a moment ago. Furthermore, she had also done something that surprised him. This woman obviously could not be Murong Qiudi.

Astoundingly, this woman was that gentle and refined wife of Xiahou Xing, the head young mistress of the Xiaohou Family of the Red Cloud Valley in the Flaming Mountains.

* * *

The swordplay of Xiahou Xing perhaps was not considered too frightening, but their family, however, was very frightening.

The Xiahou family of the Red Cloud Valley in the Flaming Mountains not only had a celebrated family history and produced many highly skilled masters; they also had the strictest family rules. People from the Xiahou Manor, no matter where they went, would never be disrespected or insulted by others. When women from the Xiahou Manor came out, others dared less to even just give her an extra look. Because if you gave her an extra look, your eyeballs may very likely be dug out. Thus, anyone who suddenly discovered that the head young mistress of the Xiahou family was sitting naked across from him would be frightened. Sitting across from her was still better, but Xue Keren had now unexpectedly sat down beside him, and sat very closely. He could even already feel her breathing. Breathing just next to his ears.

* * *

Yan Shisan, however, seemed as if he was no longer breathing. He was not stupid, and also was not the kind of person who was very narcissistic. He had long calculated that there would more or less be some sort of troubles after getting into this carriage.

But he did not realize just how big this trouble was.

Now he knew.

* * *

If he had known how big this trouble was, he would rather crawl to Green Water Lake than to sit in this carriage.

* * *

A naked beautiful woman leaning next to you, gently breathing next to your ears.

This is how beautiful a sight, how gentle a flavour. If to say that Yan Shisan was not even one bit aroused, then that surely would be a lie. Not only would others not believe, even he himself would not believe.

Even if he clearly knew that this woman was very dangerous, as dangerous as a volcano that would erupt at anytime.

Even if he could not breathe, and not smell the sweet fragrance emitted from her body, he could not stop his heart from arousing and beating.

His heart was beating very fast. If he knew that something like this would happen, he indeed would never sit in this carriage. But now he was already sitting here.

Not only was there breathing next to his ears, but also gentle speeches, “Why don’t you look at me? You dare not to?”

Yan Shisan’s eyes already opened, and already were looking at her.

Xue Keren laughed, and sweetly said, “At long last you’re still a man, and still have some courage.”

Yan Shisan laughed bitterly, and replied, “But even if I looked for three days and three nights, I still can’t tell.”

Xue Keren asked, “Can’t tell what?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Can’t tell if you really are a human being or not.”

Xue Keren said, “You should be able to tell.”

She lifted her chest and stretched out both of her legs, “If I’m not a human being, what do you think I am?”

As long as one had eyes, one should be able to tell that not only was this a human being, it was a woman, a living woman, and furthermore was the woman among women, each and every inch of her was a woman.

Yan Shisan replied, “You look very much like a woman, but the things you do, however, do not!”

Xue Keren asked, “You can’t figure out why I would act like this?”

Yan Shisan replied, “If I could figure it out, then I’d also not be a human being!”

Xue Keren asked, “Do you think you’re very ugly?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Not too ugly.”

Xue Keren asked, “Very old?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Still not too old.”

Xue Keren asked, “Do you have any flaws?”

Yan Shisan replied, “None!”

Xue Keren asked, “Has any woman ever liked you?”

Yan Shisan replied, “A few.”

Xue Keren asked, “Then what are you surprised about?”

Yan Shisan replied, “If you were a different woman, not only would I not be surprised, I also would not be polite. Unfortunately you …”

Xue Keren asked, “What about me?”

Yan Shisan replied, “You have a husband!”

Xue Keren said, “A woman sooner or later would get married. After she is married to a man, she would certainly have a husband.”

This seemed like a waste of breath, but was not.

Because her next question was very extreme, “If the one she married is not human, does she still have a husband?”

This question was very extreme, but the following was even more extreme, “If a woman married a pig, a dog, a piece of log, does she still have a husband?”

Yan Shisan really did not know how to answer, he could only ask back, “Xiahou Xing is a pig?”

Xue Keren replied, “No!”

Yan Shisan asked, “A log?”

Xue Keren replied, “Also no.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Then he’s a dog?”

Xue Keren let out a sigh, and said, “If he was a dog, it may be a bit better instead.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Why?”

Xue Keren replied, “Because dogs at least still understood a bit of people’s desires, and have a bit of feelings.”

She was biting her lips, and appeared both sorrowful and resentful, “Xiahou Xing is lazier than a pig, understands gentleness even less than a log, and could bite better than a dog. But he still feigns a very amazing appearance. I’m married to him for three years, every day I wish I could slip away.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Why don’t you slip away?”

Xue Keren said, “Because I never have any chance. Normally he would never allow me to leave a step away from him.”

Yan Shisan was again looking for that bottle of wine that had not been completely drained empty by him.

He wanted to use the wine bottle to cover his mouth. Because he really did not know what he should say.


[End of Chapter 6]

-------[FOOTNOTE]--------
28. Fault here is maobing (毛病), which means sickness/defects/issues. Trouble is mafan (麻烦), which mean something troublesome/inconvenient.
29. Lu Nanzi (鲁男子), lit. Lu male/man. He’s man that lived in the Spring Autumn period in the Lu state. The story was that he lived in solitary and one night a woman came by and requested lodging. The entire night he would have candlelight illuminate everywhere to avoid arousing suspicious. This man was from then on called “Lu Nanzi”, referring to a man that doesn’t show much interested toward a woman.
30. Liuxia Hui (柳下惠), a governor of the District of Liuxia in the Lu state during the Spring Autumn period. He was a man known for his virtue.

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Editor's Note

Subtle changes, nothing major. Descriptions of two names are wrong.

Originally translated by kara. Edited by kaister.

Chapter 7
Attracted Misfortune


The bottle of wine was at opposite side of him. He found it quickly but couldn’t use the wine bottle to cover his mouth.

Because something else was covering his mouth; something that was soft and sweet smelling.

Most men who have their mouths covered by this usually only have one reaction; a child-like reaction.

But Yan Shisan had a different reaction. He reacted as if a poisonous snake was trying to glide into his mouth.

A very poisonous snake. That was an abnormal reaction, which spoilt the moment.

Xue Keren was getting mad and pouted her lips, “Am I poisonous?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Doesn’t seem like it.”

Xue Keren asked, “Are you?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Probably not.”

Xue Keren asked, “What are you afraid of?”

Yan Shisan replied, “I just want to know one thing.”

Xue Keren asked, “What thing?”

Yan Shisan said, “I just want to know what exactly do you want me to do?”

Xue Keren asked, “You think that I treat you like this because I want you to do something?”

Yan Shisan smiled.

Smiling meant he agreed. Xue Keren got angry. She really did get angry. A person that was angry for half a day still wanted to continue to be angry.

Unfortunately there really wasn’t that much point to being angry, therefore she finally spoke the truth.

She said, “This is not the first time I have run away. I had already ran away seven times.”

Yan Shisan responded, “Oh?”

Xue Keren asked, “Guess how many time I have been caught?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Seven times.”

Xue Keren sighed and said, “Xiahou Xing doesn’t have any other talent, he only have one great one!”

Yan Shisan responded, “Oh?”

Xue Keren said, “No matter where I run to, he still have the ability to catch me back.”

Yan Shisan smiled again and said, “This is no small ability.”

Xue Keren said, “So this time eventually he will still find me. Fortunately, this time is already different.”

Yan Shisan asked, “What’s different?”

Xue Keren replied, “This time by the time he found me, I’m already yours.”

She did not let Yan Shisan deny this, and immediately explained, “At least he would think I am already your woman!”

Yan Shisan did not laughed, however, he could not deny this either.

No matter who sees them in this situation, they would not have another way of explaining this.

Xue Keren said, “He has another ability. He’s really good at getting jealous.”

Many men typically have this ability.

Xue Keren said, “So if he sees us in this situation, he’ll definitely kill you.”

Yan Shisan could only agree.

Xue Keren said, “If there is a person who wants to kill you, and must definitely kill you, what will you do?”

She answered for him, “Obviously you must kill him.”

Yan Shisan was sighing. Now he finally understood her intention.

Xue Keren gently said, “You don’t really need to sigh because you are not losing out on anything. Many men would kill for a woman like me.”

Yan Shisan said, “I believe plenty of men would, but I…”

Xue Keren said, “You are no different!”

Yan Shisan asked, “How do you know I am the same?”

Xue Keren replied, “Because when the time comes you will have no other choice.”

She grabbed onto his neck, “By that time, if you don’t kill him he will still kill you. So right now why don’t you…”

She didn’t continue not because something was covering her mouth. It was because her mouth was blocking someone else’s mouth.

This time Yan Shisan did not treat her like a poisonous snake. It seemed like he had already thought it through.

Unfortunately at that moment the horse drawing their carriage neighed frighteningly.

He startlingly turned around and, from out of the carriage window, saw a carriage wheel rolled from the side of the carriage to the front. It was the wheel from their carriage.

* * *

When he saw this wheel rolling away, their carriage was already driven to and toppled on the side of the road.

When the carriage toppled down, the carriage window was on the top.

A person was standing on top looking down at them through the window with a very cold and handsome face; his eyes filled with hatred.

Xue Keren sighed and asked, “Can’t you see that he truly has this ability?”

Yan Shisan bitterly smiled and replied, “Yes.”

* * *

Xiahou Xing was a member of a noble family. Members of noble family are very well manner, and seldomly swear. Even if they tell people to “get lost”, they would add the word “please”³¹ to it.

But everyone has moments where they are not polite and it was obvious that this was one of these moments for Xiahou Xing.

It was already not easy for him to simply just jump up screaming. He only cursed out, “Jianren³² (b*tch), get out!”

Xue Keren was actually very obedient; he wanted her to get out and she went out immediately.

She didn’t even have a piece of clothing on her. Xiahou Xing was anxious again, he hollered, “Do not come out!”

Xue Keren sighed and said, “You know that I always listen to you but now you tell me to get out here and then tell me I can’t get out. What should I do?”

Xiahou Xing’s pale face turned purple and he pointed at Yan Shisan, “You…You…You…”

He was never a very good speaker. Now that he was angry and anxious, he couldn’t even say a word.

Xue Keren said, “It looks like he wanted you to get out.”

Yan Shisan said, “Absolutely not.”

Xue Keren asked, “No?”

Yan Shisan said, “Because I am not a jianren (b*tch) nor can I gun³³ (boil, also means get out).”

He laughed and said, “I know Xiahou-gongzi (gentleman) is a very well mannered person. If he wants me to come out, he would politely say ‘please’.”

Xiahou Xing’s face turned from purple to white, clenched his fist and said, “Please, Please, Please, Please…”

He continued saying seventeen to eighteen “please”. Yan Shisan had already come out, and he still continue saying it.

Yan Shisan laughed again and said, “What exactly are you asking me to ‘please’ do?”

Xiahou Xing said, “I want you to please go to hell.”

* * *

There was a horse carriage stopped on the road far away. The door of the carriage had the symbol of Xiahou family printed on it.

That child and the coachman were sitting at the front of the carriage glaring at Yan Shisan.

The coachman was a very pale, white haired old man who was small and skinny. Not knowing how long he had been doing this job, however as a coachmen he wouldn’t lose out to someone much younger.

That child had really agile movement, obviously trained in martial art. However, there was no way they could fight for Xiahou Xing’s behalf, therefore Yan Shisan’s would only need to go against Xiahou Xing, himself.

This put Yan Shisan very much at ease.

Xiahou Xing was certainly not easy to handle; moreover, that Thousand Snake Sword was an extremely fearful unorthodox weapon.

However with just him, one person, and one sword, Yan Shisan was certainly not worry.

He only felt something was not right regarding this matter.

Although he was not particularly fond of Xiahou Xing, but to help a woman kill her husband…

He did not have any time to think about this.

Xiahou Xing’s Thousand Snake Sword attacked him as if it was raining a sky full of hundreds and thousand of silvery poisonous snake.

He originally could use any stance in Life Snatching Thirteen Sword to counter this move; however, at that moment he had a very strange thought —

If Cao Bing could use Raven to test his swordplay, why couldn’t he take this opportunity to test out the power of that Third Young Master’s sword stance?

As he was beginning to have this thought, his sword wiped out as natural as a cool breeze and as magnificent as a setting sun.

He was precisely executing that Third Young Master’s sword stance. Though he was not particularly familiar with using this move, and not even himself felt its power when he was executing it.

He immediately felt it.

All of a sudden, Xiahou Xing’s poisonous snake like attack completely disintegrated between this cool breezes like sword ray. It was like willow catkin dispersing within the spring wind, or ice and snow melting under the sunlight.

Xiahou Xing’s was actually flung out seven to eight zhang³⁴ (yard) by this power and trip in front of his own horse carriage.

Yan Shisan, himself, was also shocked. The old coachman was busy trying to tend Xiahou Xing. The child had his eyes wide opened and frighteningly looked at him. Xue Keren sighed; she smiled while sighing. The sighing was insincere but the smile was honest.

She was smiling sweetly.

“Can’t believe your swordplay is much better than I imagined.”

Yan Shisan sighed and laughed, “I can’t believe it either.”

His sighing was honest, the laugh was bitter. He knew that if he did use his Life Snatching Thirteen Sword, not a single move would have such power.

— Without the advice from Murong Qiudi, how would he be able to block this move?

— Even if he were able to defeat the Third Young Master, what would this kind of victory taste like?

Yan Shisan’s heart felt a bit of bitterness. He turned his hand and put his blade back to its sheath. He didn’t really pay attention to Xiahou Xing anymore. He was no longer concern with this person. Unbelievably, right when he lifted his head, Xiahou Xing was standing right in front of him and looking at him coldly.

Yan Shisan sighed and asked, “What do you still want?”

Xiahou Xing said, “Please.”

Yan Shisan said, “You still want me to go to hell?”

Xiahou Xing actually held himself back and coldly said, “Gexia’s³⁵ (Your) swordplay at first is most definitely the world’s unparalleled swordplay!”

Yan Shisan could not deny it. Not only were these true words, these were flattering words. However, he did not felt good hearing these words because that was not his swordplay.

Xiahou Xing again said, “Zaixia³⁶ (I) come here because I am still very much obliged to learn from gexia’s (your) swordplay.”³⁷

Yan Shisan asked, “You still want to experience that one sword stance?”

Xiahou Xing replied, “Yes.”

Yan Shisan laughed.

This was not an honest laughed, nor was it a cold laugh, and definitely not a painful laugh.

This laugh was simply a cover up; a laugh to cover up what was in his heart.

— This guy actually dared to go against this move one more time. If he had not gone mad, then he must’d thought of a way to handle this move.

— He did not seemed like he had gone mad.

— Perhaps he had already thought of a way to counter this move, and was confident about it? Yan Shisan seemed to be emotionally affected. He really wanted to see what in the world could possibly counter this sword move!

Xiahou Xing was waiting for his reply.

Yan Shisan only said one word, “Please.”

After this word came out, Xiahou Xing already started his attack. The Thousand Snake Sword had transformed into thousand of silver snake dancing and covering the sky.

This move seemed like a deceptive move.

Yan Shisan could tell, but he did not seem to be concern.

It didn’t matter if the opponent used a false move or true move, Third Young Master’s sword stand would be able to handle it.

This time he was getting more use to executing the move. As this one sword move came out and as it was transforming, there was a “ka” sound and the sky-filled silver snake joined together as one sword.

The light of the sword became concentrated, a sword thrust out in a single move. It was an extremely simple move; it was simple yet awkward. However, it was directed at precisely the only weakness of this Third Young Master’s sword stance.

Yan Shisan was truly shocked. The sword move Xiahou Xing executed was exactly the same move he was displaying in front of Murong Qiudi. Even Murong Qiudi acknowledge this is the only move to counter the Third Young Master’s swordplay. Right now he was using the Third Young Master’s swordplay; and Xiahou Xing was using the same move he had conceived to counter and kill him.

Right now he had already executed the sword stance and he couldn’t even change it if he wanted to. Was he really going to be killed by a sword move that he had thought of?

* * *

He did not die!

He clearly knew this move he was executing had a weakness; and clearly knew his opponent was executing a fatal counter.

However, when the opponent’s sword entered this space, the swordplay he was using had another transformation.

It was a transformation he would never imagine, and it was not a transformation he personally conceived of.

It was a transformation within a transformation in the swordplay itself.

It was like a waterfall at a high mountain top. When the water was flowing down, you could clearly see a hole on it. However, once you reached your hand out, you realized the running water had already covered the hole.

There was a loud “ding” sound.

The Thousand Snake Sword was broken; it was broken into thousand of little pieces. Xiahou Xing, himself, flew out due to the impact and flew very far.

The old man was startlingly looking him that he even had forgotten to take care of Xiahou Xing.

This time Xue Keren not only laughed, she was clapping.

However, this time Yan Shisan’s heart sank; it sank to the bottom of an icy cold lake.

Right now he finally realized this flaw in Third Young Master’s swordplay wasn’t really a flaw at all.

Right now he finally understood there was no one in this world that could break this sword move.

Absolutely no one!

If he wanted to go break it then he would simply sending himself to death. If Cao Bing did go, then he would definitely die!

— If it could break that sword move, it should be his glory. If it couldn’t, then the one who die should be him.

Xiahou Xing collapsed on the ground and still hasn’t gotten up. Blood was coming out of the corner of his mouth.

The old man and the child were frozen in terror. However, the horse that was pulling the cart was fine. Anyone could tell it was a well-trained horse.

He wanted to go steal the horse.

He was in a hurried to get to Divine Sword Manor. Even if he was going to die, he wanted to hurry there. He definitely could not let Cao Bing die on his behalf.

Because he was a man of Jianghu. Men of Jianghu have their own unique way of thinking.

At that moment, he heard a man coughing. A vagrant who was dressed in dirty and worn clothes with a dirty and smelly body, walked out of the forest while coughing non-stop.

No one saw him at first.

It seemed at first there was no one in the forest, but this person clearly walked out of the forest. He was walking slowly and coughing violently.

He seemed as if he did not see that hair raising fierce battle, and that stunning display of swordplay.

He did not seem as if he saw any of these people.

— A naked beauty with half of her body showing out of the carriage window.

He did not see.

— A legendary swordsman with his hand still holding a sword full of killing aura.

He also did not see.

It seemed like he only saw one person — saw that small and skinny old coachman.

* * *

The old coachman was frighten to the point that he huddled himself up and was shaking.

The vagrant was constantly coughing, slowly walked there, and suddenly stopped and stood in front of the carriage.

The old coachman was even more scared; he looked at him frighteningly. His coughing stopped for a moment. He suddenly smiled in front of the old coachman and said, “Good.”

The old coachman asked, “Good? What’s good? Good about what?”

The vagrant said, “Are you good?”

The old coachman asked, “What part of me is good?”

The vagrant replied, “Every part of you is good.”

The old coachman bitterly smiled. Before he opened his mouth, the vagrant continued, “If it was you who went earlier, right now that person would be dead.”

Before he even finish talking, the coughing started again and walking away slowly.

The old coachman was startled and looked at him. Every one was startled and looked at him; and seemed as if no one understood what he was saying!

Yan Shisan seemed to understand something but not completely. As he was about to go up to him and ask, that person vanished into thin air. Even though he walked very slowly, in a flash he had disappeared. Even his coughing could no longer be heard.

Xue Keren muttered to herself, “Strange, how come this person look so familiar?”

The old coachman muttered to himself, “Strange, what is this person saying?”

Yan Shisan was already in front of him and said, “Even if other people do not understand what he said, I do.”

The old coachman said, “Oh?”

Yan Shisan said, “Not only do I understand but you do too.”

The old coachman shut his mouth and then used a surprised look and stared at him.

Yan Shisan said, “Twenty years ago the strongest person from Red Cloud Valley was not the current manor master, Xiahou Chongshan³⁸.”

The old coachman asked, “If it was not the elder manor master, then who was it?”

Yan Shisan said, “His younger brother, Xiahou Feishan³⁹.”

The old coachman said, “But…”

Yan Shisan said, “But twenty years ago Xiahou Feishan suddenly disappeared and even now no one knows of his whereabouts.”

The old coachman sighed and said, “I’m afraid old master had died a long time ago.”

Yan Shisan said, “Everyone in Jianghu thought he is dead, but now I know he did not die.”

The old coachman asked, “How do you know?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Because I know his whereabouts.”

The old coachman asked, “Where is the old master now?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Right here!”

He was staring right at the old coachman’s eyes and said each word clearly, “You are Xiahou Feishan!”

* * *

The twilight was gradually getting closer. The wind was gradually getting colder.

This old coachman shrunken up body slowly straightened up. There was suddenly glimmer of light within his eyes.

A type of shining light that would only come out of a true master.

Yan Shisan said, “Twenty years ago you had an encounter with Life Snatching Thirteen Sword.”


[End of Chapter 7]

-------[FOOTNOTE]-------
31. qing (请), means “please” or “kindly ask/request”.
32. jianren (贱人), lit. “lowly/cheap person”. Usually refer to woman, equivalent to a word that means female dog, wh*re, or sl*t.
33. gun (滚), could mean either “boil”, roll, or “get lost/take a hike”. Xiahou Xing told her to gunchulai or “get lost, come out”, which I changed to “get out”.
34. zhang (丈), it’s ten chi and since a chi is approximately 1 foot, a zhang is about 3.58 meters or 3.645 yards. There’s really no accurate English equivalent to a zhang.
35. gexia (阁下), means “your distinguished self”, a very polite way to refer someone. He is using very polite speech.
36. zaixia (在下), mean “I”, i.e. a way to refer to yourself but in a very respectful way. Just want to point out, it literally means “at below”. The point is if you put yourself at a lower position, you elevated the person you are talking directly to in a very respectful way.
37. I can easily translated to line to “I want to fight you again.” and would almost mean the same thing. However, a lot would be lost in translation. For one, he is using extremely polite speech. He uses ziaxia, gexia, and lingjiao (领教). Refer to previous footnote on the former two. Lingjiao, literally means “experience with the intention to learn”. He did not just “I want to experience that swordplay again.”, he is really saying “Please allow me to experience that swordplay so I can gain valuable lesson from it.” These archaic speeches, in my opinion, adds an extra flavor to wuxia stories.
38. Xiahou Chongsan (夏侯重山), surname Xiahou, given name means “heavy mountain”.
39. Xiahou Feishan (夏侯飞山), surname Xiahou, given name means “flying mountain”.

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Editor's Note

Minor changes.
Original translation said this is her “seventh time” running away but Chinese text said she as ran away “seven times” before.

Missing a lot of lines, maybe a dozen or so. Can’t list them out, just compare this translation with the original.

Originally translated by kara. Revised and retranslated by kaister.

Chapter 8
Drunk as Mud


Again he explained, “No one knows about the battle between you and my late father on the grand mountains of Huashan twenty years ago, I know.”

The old coachman tightened his hands.

Yan Shisan said, “You lost to my late father in that battle. In these twenty years, you must’d studied Life Snatching Thirteen Sword well because you were always thinking about a chance for revenge.”

The old driver suddenly sighed and said, “It was a pity that he died so early.”

Yan Shisan, “Since you studied Life Snatching Thirteen Sword so meticulously, you must know that beside the thirteen stances there is a fourteenth sword stance. Therefore, you were able to come up with that counter move at first.”

He sighed and said, “Aside from you, I’m afraid there is no one else in this world that could.”

The old coachman did not deny it.

Yan Shisan said, “The reason Xue Keren could not escape Xiahou Xing no matter where she fled to, also must be you.”

The old coachman said, “Oh?”

Yan Shisan said, “The ‘Flaming God Eagle’ Xiahou Feishan’s⁴¹ ability to hunt, capture and scour is already something very few people could match up twenty years ago.”

The old coachman dully said, “You seem to know quite a few things.”

Yan Shisan said, “Indeed quite a few!”

The old coachman’s eyes suddenly had this sword-like cold aura, and said, “Do you also know why I suddenly disappeared? After I disappeared why I became a lowly servant and served as Xiahou Xing’s coachman?”

Yan Shisan dully said, “These are things I do not need to know.”

* * *

These were indeed things he didn’t need to know because these are other people’s secret and personal business. However, it was also not that he didn’t know.

— Rivalries between brothers, secret affair between brother and sister-in-law, a momentary misstep, and lifetime of regrets.

These were a few common tragedies a big prominent household had. These were definitely not unique to Xiahou family. However their grand reputation and fame were enough to dazzle the public’s view, and made other people overlooked these ugly and tragic matters.

— Xiahou Feishan’s disappearance in the former years, was it because of a secret love affair between him and his older sister-in-law?

— After he disappeared, he secretly came back and was willing to lower himself to the status of a servant and became Xiahou Xing’s coachman — what were they for?

— Could it be that Xiahou Xing was his child born from this ill-fated relationship?

These were not issues Yan Shisan wanted to speculate on. This was because these were other people’s personal matters that he did not need to know. He also did not want to know.

* * *

The old coachman was still looking at him. He used that pair of eyes that was no longer old and tired to look at him. Yan Shisan did not avoid his eyes.

If a person has a clear conscience, there is no need to avoid. It doesn't matter what it is, there is not need to avoid. The old coachman suddenly asked a very strange question.

He asked, “What is your surname right now?”

Yan Shisan, “Yan, the yan in yanzi (swallow, the bird).”

The old coachman asked, “You are Yan Shisan?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Yes.”

The old coachman asked, “You are really your old man’s son?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Yes!”

* * *

Not only was the way these questions were asked strange, they seemed rather baffling. The person answering the question similarly could not make the head or tails of it. These questions seemed to be a bunch of nonsense.

Typically you don’t need to answer to nonsense, but Yan Shisan had no choice but to reply. This was because Yan Shisan knew these were not nonsense. What the old coachman follow up on was also not a nonsense.

He said, “Since you are your old man’s son, I should probably kill you!”

Yan Shisan did not open his mouth. In the view of a Jianghu man, the insult of a defeat was a type of unforgettable hatred.

A hatred that needed retaliation.

The old coachman, “Earlier I wanted to use your own swordplay to kill you!”

He deeply sighed and continued, “It’s a pity that Xiahou Xing’s attack was too soft. Also, the variation in that single sword stance you were using was too formidable.”

Yan Shisan said, “His attack was not soft. Unfortunately, he already lost confidence in himself.”

Yan Shisan continued, “I was not used to that swordplay I was using. Therefore, if it was you that was attacking at first, it was very possible I would die under your sword.”

The old coachman agreed; that vagrant’s analysis was very accurate.

— Who exactly was he?

In the vicissitudes of life, there were many extraordinary people and surprising individuals. If a person does not want to reveal his identity, why must you press for it?

Yan Shisan said, “Right now…”

The old coachman said, “Right now is different!”

Yan Shisan asked, “What’s different?”

The old coachman said, “Right now you already have confidence in that sword move of yours. Not even I can break it anymore.”

Yan Shisan said, “You can at least try.”

The old coachman said, “No need.”

Yan Shisan asked, “No need?”

The old coachman replied, “There are some things you don’t need to know so there are some things I also don’t need to try.”

He did not let Yan Shisan opened his mouth and continued, “Twenty years ago I lost to your father’s sword. Twenty years later Xiahou Xing again lost to your sword. Why do I need to try?”

Although he said this flatly, his voice still contained an unexplainable sadness.

Yan Shisan also understood what he meant. His sadness was perhaps not due to the battle in the former years but the failure today.

Because he finally realized his own son could not even be compared to the other person’s son.

This was the true failure, a complete failure. This type of failure was absolutely hopeless.

What was the point of killing the other person’s son?

The old coachman slowly said, “The Xiahou clan already lost today. You are free to take away the person from the Xiahou family.”

He was already prepared to let Yan Shisan take away Xue Keren.

He no longer wanted such a daughter-in-law.

Yan Shisan said, “I don’t want to take anyone away with me.”

The old coachman said, “You really don’t want to?”

Yan Shisan shook his head, “But I want…”

The old coachman pupils contracted and said, “Even if you want my head, I can give it to you.”

Yan Shisan laughed and said, “I just want a horse, a very fast horse!”

* * *

It was truly a fast horse.

Yan Shisan was madly speeding whipping this horse. Toward this one in a million fast horse, he didn’t even treasure it a bit.

He did not even treasure his stamina. Toward this one battle, he no longer had any confidence, any hope. This was because no one in this world could break that Third’s Young Master’s sword move.

Absolutely none!

He only hoped to get to Green Water Lake before Cao Bing.

* * *

The Green Water Lake was at the foot of the Emerald Cloud Peak.

The Divine Sword Manor was built on the mountain facing the water; it was an ancient and grand construction. The other side of the lake was a very small village. In the village, most people’s surnames were Xie. People who wanted to go to Divine Sword Manor usually must be redirected through this Shopkeeper Xie. Like most other places, this restaurant’s name was also Xinghua Cun (Apricot Blossom Village).

The very little Apricot Blossom Village.

* * *

When Yan Shisan arrived to the very little Apricot Blossom Villiage, the horse collapsed.

Fortunately, he had not yet collapsed.

He rushed in. He wanted to find Xie Wangsun⁴² and ask whether Cao Bing already arrived at Divine Sword Manor.

However, he did not need to ask because once he rushed in he already had his answer. A very much alive answer.

* * *

The very little Apricot Blossom Village only had two people. Once Yan Shisan rushed in, he saw Cao Bing.

A very much alive Cao Bing. Cao Bing arrived here first.

Cao Bing was still alive. Did Cao Bing already fought with the Third Young Master? If Cao Bing was alive right now, did that mean the Third Young Master died under his sword?

Yan Shisan did not believe, and yet could not believe. Cao Bing was definitely not a patient person. As soon as he got here he must have rushed to the Divine Sword Manor immediately.

He would never sit here and wait. No matter who rushed into Divine Sword Manor and came out alive, there must be only explanation.

That person had defeated the most fearful person in the Divine Sword Manor.

* * *

Did Cao Bing really defeated the Third Young Master? What method did he used to counter that Third Young Master’s sword move? Yan Shisan really wanted to ask but he did not ask.

Because even though Cao Bing was still alive he was already drunk.

He was very drunk, drunk as mud. Fortunately there was someone else in the restaurant that wasn’t drunk. That person was looking at him, shaking his head and sighing.

“This renxiong (fellow) seems like a person that doesn’t drink. After drinking only half a catty, he was already drunk for an entire day.”

If he was not a drinking person, why did he get so drunk?

Was it because of an emptiness after victory, or was it because he wanted to drink a little before battle to gain a little bit of courage but gotten drunk first?

Yan Shisan couldn’t help asked, “Are you the Shopkeeper Xie of this place?”

The person who was originally shaking his head and sighing, immediately nodded his head.

Yan Shisan asked, “Do you know if this renxiong (fellow) had seen the Third Young Master?”

Shopkeeper Xie replied, “Don’t know.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Did he go to the Divine Sword Manor?”

Shopkeeper Xie replied, “Don’t know.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Where is the Third Young Master now?”

Shopkeeper Xie replied, “Don’t know.”

Yan Shisan coldly asked, “What do you know?”

Shopkeeper Xie smiled and said, “I only know gexia (you) are Yan Shisan, Only know gexia (you) wanted to go to Divine Sword Manor.”

Yan Shisan laughed.

This person did not know anything that he needed know. Other the other hand, he seemed to know everything he didn’t need to know.

Yan Shisan asked, “Can you take me there?”

Shopkeeper Xie replied, “Can!”

* * *

The lake water of the Green Water Lake was blue-like green.

It was a pity that right now was already the end of autumn. The lakeside no longer had any hanging willows; however, there was a fast boat.

“This boat was specifically prepared for you. I already had it prepared for three days.”

They boarded the boat. At the middle of the boat there wasn’t just wine and food, there were a zither, a chess board, a book, and a smooth and solid pieced of rock.

Yan Shisan asked, “What is this?”

Shopkeeper Xie replied,, “It’s a sharpening stone for sword.”

He smiled and explained, “I’d already seen plenty of people that went to Divine Sword Manor. The first thing each person did was not the same.”

Yan Shisan was listening.

Shopkeeper Xie said, “Some people would start drinking vigorously after getting onboard.”

Yan Shisan said, “Drinking can boost your confidence and courage.”

He poured a cup of wine and took a full gulp, “But drinking wine is not necessarily for building courage.”

Shopkeeper Xie immediately agreed. He smiled and said, “Some people drink wine because they like to drink.”

Yan Shisan drank three more cups.

Shopkeeper Xie said, “Some also like to play zither, read book, and some even like to play chess by themselves.”

These were all methods that help a person relax and remain calm.

Shopkeeper Xie said, “However most people that got onboard liked to sharpen their sword.”

Sharpening your sword was another way to help you remain calm. Furthermore, it was something that doesn’t require any mental strength.

Shopkeeper Xie was looking at Yan Shisan’s sword. He said, “This is a very good sharpening stone.”

Yan Shisan laughed and said, “This sword of mine is never sharpened by a stone.”

Shopkeeper Xie asked, “If not sharpened by a stone, what do you use to sharpened it with?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Use necks, the necks of the enemies.”

* * *

The water was waving and reflecting the sunset. The Emerald Cloud Peak faraway was very picturesque.

Inside the boat was calm and silent because Shopkeeper Xie already closed his mouth. He didn’t want people to use his neck to sharpen sword. However, his eyes couldn’t help but took a look at that sword.

Thirteen pearls were inlaid on the sword. This was not a precious sword, yet it was a famed sword, a very famous sword.

Yan Shisan was facing the window looking out to the lake water and mountain scenery. It seemed he was thinking about something. After not knowing how long, he suddenly turned around and said, “You obviously had seen that Third Young Master before.”

Shopkeeper Xie did not deny it.

Yan Shisan asked, “Do you know what kind of sword the Third Young Master uses normally?”

He had seen the Third Young Master use his sword once before. However he seen it far away, he couldn’t see the sword clearly.

Because the Third Young Master’s moves were too quick. That was why he wanted to ask but once he asked about this it felt so pointless.

Because Shopkeeper Xie’s reply would definitely be: “Don’t know.”

However, this time he was wrong.

Shopkeeper Xie was pondering and then slowly said, “Do you know about the matter of the lunjian (sword gathering) at Mount Hua?”

Yan Shisan knew.

Shopkeeper Xie said, “Third Young Master is using ‘that’ sword.”

Yan Shisan said, “The world’s number one sword?”

Shopkeeper Xie nodded. He sighed and said, “That is truly the famed sword unparalleled in the world.”

Yan Shisan said, “That indeed is!”

Shopkeeper Xie said, “Many people took this boat there wanted to simply revere that sword.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Are you the only one who takes guests across the lake?”

Shopkeeper Xie replied, “Usually it is me. Going there, I would typically play chess and drink wine with them.”

Yan Shisan asked, “How about coming back?”

Shopkeeper Xie laughed and replied, “Coming back is usually just me alone.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Why?”

Shopkeeper Xie replied, “Because once they go, very few return.”

* * *

The setting sun was getting weaker and twilight approached.

The clear mountain far away was gradually fading under the approaching twilight like a faded painting.

The boat was even quieter because Yan Shisan also closed his mouth.

— Going there right now, would he be able to come back alive?

He suddenly thought about a lot of things, things he shouldn’t be thinking about.

He thought about his childhood, his adolescent friends, and also the people whom had died under his sword.

— Out of all those people, how many did not deserved to die?

He suddenly thought about the first woman he had slept with. At that time he was very young but she already had a lot of experience.

To him that was not a particularly interesting experience but now he was still thinking about it.

He even thought about Xue Keren. Right now did she go back with Xiahou Xing? Did Xiahou Xing still want her back?

These were things he shouldn’t spend time thinking about, things he did not need to think about, and also things he shouldn’t be willing to think about.

However, right now he was indeed thinking about them, very chaotic thoughts. When his mind was the most chaotic, he saw a person who stood under the autumn sunset at the side of Green Water Lake.

* * *

At the point when a person is in the most confused state of mind, it is rather hard to see anyone or anything.

Yet Yan Shisan happened to see this person at the most chaotic train of thought.

This person was nothing out of the ordinary. He was middle-aged man, possibly at the higher end of middle age. Both sides of the hair near the temple were greyed. His eyes revealed an old aged tiredness.

He was dressed simply; a detailed green garment, cloth shoes, and white stockings. It seemed like he was a very ordinary person who casually walked around the edge of the Green Water Lake. Looking at the scenery at late autumn, he casually stood there.

Perhaps it was simply because he was too ordinary, like the late autumn twilight, that Yan Shisan noticed him.

— The more simple a thing or person is, sometime that harder it is to escape your notice.

Yan Shisan saw him, like seeing the autumn sunset night sky. In his heart he could feel very calm, very comfortable, and very beautiful. There absolutely was nothing surprising or dreadful.


[End of Chapter 8]

---

Footnote:
41. Xiahou Feishan (夏侯飞山), surname Xiahou, given name means “flying mountain”.
42. Xie Wangsun (谢王孙), surname Xie, given name means “king’s descendant”.

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Editor's Notes

-Some dialogues are shortened, details were dropped.
-By the way, different between kara and my new translation, the “<A> said,” “<B> said,” before dialogues are dropped, I usually preserved them.

Discrepancies between kara’s translation and original Chinese source (in order):

-Battle between Xiahou Feishan and his “master”, source said “father”. Also battle location was missing.
-YSS mention XHFS must’ve known about the 14th stance, this detail was dropped.
-Section talking bout XHFS personal matter, minute details are being skipped.
-When YSS talked his surname he describe which Chinese character it is. To be fair, it sorta makes sense for translation to skip this.
- XHFS said “twenty years later Xiahou Xing…” NOT “twenty years later I…”
- Missing line: ‘Because he finally realized his own son could not even be compared to other person’s son.’
- Originally translation used “the person who had defeated him” which is not wrong but “defeat him” is not in the original text. I changed it back to “the other person” which is exactly the same as the Chinese text, though it is implied this is the person who defeated him. I prefer translation to be true to original text. I think translator has the right to add extra words not in original source if he or she thinks it clarify or enhance the translation. Unfortunately I don’t take such a stance…or at least rarely.
- Restore details: Example, Going from “The person nodded.” -> “The person who was originally shaking his head and sighing, immediately nodded his head.” Again, technically the former translation is not wrong. It became more concise and eliminated redundancy because the extra description was mentioned before. However, my preference is to preserve as much of the original text as possible.
- YSS was drinking with a cup not a bowl

Originally translated by kara. Review and partially re-translated by kaister.

Chapter 9
More Than Meets the Eye


Shopkeeper Xie also saw this person. He was evidently surprised and even a little bit scared.

Yan Shisan couldn’t help but asked, “Who is that person?”

Shopkeeper Xie asked back, “Do you know who is the current manor master of the Divine Sword Manor?”

Yan Shisan obviously knew, “It’s Xie Wangsun.”

Shopkeeper Xie said, “The person you are looking at right now is Manor Master Xie, Xie Wangsun.”

* * *

Xie Wangsun was not a famous hero of Wulin that blazed through Jianghu. He was famous around the world simply because he was the manor master of Divine Sword Manor.

Yan Shisan know all of this. However he still couldn’t imagine this famous Master Xie was actually this easy-going and unassuming person.

Although he did not seem too old, his life had already reached its nightfall. It was precisely like the peace and tranquility of a late autumn night. There were no longer any matter in the world that would touch his heart.

His hands were also arid yet warm. He currently grabbed onto Yan Shisan and smiled, “You don’t have to introduce yourself. I know who you are.”

Yan Shisan said, “But qianbei (senior) you…”

Xie Wangsun said, “Please don’t refer me as qianbei (senior). Right here you are my guest.”

Yan Shisan did not dispute, and was no longer polite.

Being held onto by this hand, his heart suddenly also had a very warm feeling.

However, his other hand was still tightly holding onto his sword.

Xie Wangsun said, “My house is not far ahead. We can slowly walk there.”

He smiled and continued, “Under such a good weather, being able to take a leisure walk and chat with a person like you is definitely a delightful thing.”

* * *

Although the setting sun already disappeared, the maple leaves on the mountain side was still gorgeous.

The night wind was filled with clean smell of the dry tree leaves, and a fragrance from the faraway mountain.

Yan Shisan’s heart suddenly had this peace and comfort he had not felt in many years. He suddenly thought of a poem:

Up faraway a cold mountain a stone path slants,
Deep within the white clouds households reside,
Carriage stops to admire the maple forest night,
Frosted leaves are redder than February flowers.⁴³

At this time and this moment with this scenery, wasn’t this precisely the scene described by the poem? The person walking next to him, wasn’t he the person within the poem, the person within the painting?

Xie Wangsun was walking very slowly. To him, although life was short, he was not impatient or worried.

As he was looking into the distant, he could see the Divine Sword Manor’s grand and ancient building.

Xie Wangsun said, “My ancestors built this two hundreds years ago. Till today, it hasn’t changed a bit.”

There were emotions stirring in his voice, “But the people here already changed. They had changed greatly.”

Yan Shisan was quietly listening. He could hear the emotions in his voice. It was just a slight emotion stirring, not melancholy.

Because he already see through everything. People always change, why be melancholic about it?

Xie Wangsun said, “The person that built this manor was the first generation ancestor of this place. You should know about him.”

Yan Shisan, of course, knew.

Two hundreds years ago, all the famous heroes of the world gathered in Mount Hua discussing martial art and comparing sword skills. That was such a fascinating history.

Capable of garnering the respect of all the heroes at the time, this person must a great figure.

Xie Wangsun said, “Since the laorenjia (old sir) passed away, this place had went through many generations. Although no one could be compared to talaorenjia (him, the old sir), each generation had their grand history and had accomplished great feats.”

He laughed and continued, “Only me. I am only a very ordinary man, don’t deserved to be part of the Xie clan.”

His laugh was still very serene, very comfortable, “It was because I knew I am ordinary with no capability, I am, on the other hand, able to enjoy an ordinary and quiet life.”

Yan Shisan could only listen. The words this old man was saying, there was no way he could partake in.

Xie Wangsun said, “I have two daughters and three sons. The eldest daughter married a very ambitious young man. Unfortunately he was a bit arrogant and prideful, so they died very early on.”

Yan Shisan heard of this matter before. The big miss of the Xie family married the swiftest and most courageous young swordsman at the time. They indeed died very early. They died on the night of their wedding, they were ambushed in their wedding chamber.

Xie Wangsun said, “My second daughter also died very young. She died of depression. It was because she fell in love with one of my young scholar study. She didn’t dare to say it out. We did not know so we’d arranged a marriage for her to another family. Before the wedding day, she silently passed away.”

He softly sighed, “In reality, if she was willing to tell us what was in her heart, we wouldn’t be against it. My young study was also a very good child!”

This was the first time he sighed. It was only a sigh of having no alternative.

And there was not much sorrow.

— Why must men grieve about deeds in the past? Xie Wangsun said, “My eldest son was an idiot and died prematurely during childhood. My second son wanted to avenge his older sister and brother-in-law, died in a battle at Mount Yin⁴⁵.”

The Ghost Pack of Mount Yin who ambushed the big miss of the Xie family all died after that one battle.

Xie Wangsun said, “These are the misfortunes of my family. I never blame anyone.”

His voice was very serene, “Everyone has their own destiny. Whether it is fortune or misfortune, you can’t blame other people. Therefore after all these years, I’ve slowly come to accept these facts!”

Although he had experienced so much tragedies and sorrows he could still maintain a tranquil heart. This point alone made this man an impressive figure. Yan Shisan admired it; he admired him greatly.

Xie Wangsun said, “Right now I’d came to acceptance. What created these misfortunes was perhaps because the culmination of killings of the Xie family was too great…”

Being able to come to this point was greatly admirable. However, why did he tell another person all of this? These are all private affair of their family, there was no need for other people to know.

— He told me all of this, is it because he already considered that I’m a dead person?

— Only a dead person would never reveal any secret.

Yan Shisan already thought of this point but he was not concerned by it because he’d already accepted how other viewed him. He no longer let it bother him any more.

Xie Wangsun continued, “You obviously know I still have a son named Xie Xiaofeng.”

Yan Shisan said, “I know.”

Xie Wangsun said, “He was indeed a very smart child. The spirit of the Xie clan seemed to be entirely concentrated within him.”

Yan Shisan, “I know when he was young, he had defeated the famed swordsman at the time, Hua Shaokun⁴⁶.”

Xie Wangsun said, “Hua Shaokun’s swordplay was not as impressive as legend had it. Beside he was too arrogant, he did not take an around ten year old child seriously.”

He slowly continued, “A person practicing sword should be wholly focused on proper thoughts. You absolutely cannot be arrogant; arrogance leads to negligence. Any type of neglect can be fatal.”

This was truly a gem of wisdom, of course Yan Shisan was listening.

Xie Wangsun laughed and said, “However that child of mine did not have this bad habit. Although he became famous when he was young, he never take anyone lightly.”

Yan Shisan couldn’t help take a deep sigh, and said, “Just because of this one point, it is no wonder he is invincible in the world!”

Xie Wangsun also couldn’t take a sigh and said, “However, this is also his misfortune.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Why?”

Xie Wangsun replied, “It is because he never underestimate anyone, he always use his full strength.”

He did not say any further, Yan Shisan understood his point.

— If a person insisted on using full strength against opponent, the sword would definitely injure the person.

He had already known there were no survivor under the Third Young Master’s sword.

Xie Wangsun was sighing and said, “His biggest mistake in life was that his killings were too numerous.”

Yan Shisan said, “This is not consider his mistake!”

Xie Wangsun asked, “No?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Perhaps he didn’t want to kill. He kills because he doesn’t have a choice.”

— If you don’t kill me, I’ll kill you.

Yan Shisan also sighed and said, “A man in Jianghu, sometimes does things that are beyond his control. Killing is also the same!”

Xie Wangsun looked at him. After looking for a while, he slowly said, “Can’t believe that you understand him very well.”

Yan Shisan said, “Because I also kill!”

Xie Wangsun asked, “Do you also really want to kill him?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Yes!”

Xie Wangsun said, “You are very honest.”

Yan Shisan said, “A person that kills people must be honest. A person that’s not honest usually dies under another’s sword.”

— A person who learn swordsmanship must be sincere and just. This principle is basically the same.

Xie Wangsun stared at him. His eyes suddenly revealed a strange expression. He suddenly said, “Good, you follow me!”

Yan Shisan said, “Thank you!”

* * *

Thank you is a very ordinary phrase. At this time this moment, him actually saying these words had became very strange.

What was he thanking? Was it for the understanding from this old man or was it because this old was willing to bring him to death?

He originally came here to die.

* * *

Night.

Early in the night, Divine Sword Manor already had lamps lit up one after another.

They walked into a room next to the main hall. The lamplights in the main hall were splendid. The light in this room, on the other hand, was muddle yellow and dim.

Everything in the room were covered with black clothes, magnifying its cold and gloomy atmosphere.

Why didn’t Xie Wangsu receive his guest in the main hall? Why did he bring him here? Yan Shisan did not ask and did not need to ask.

Xie Wangsun removed a black cloth to reveal a plaque with the golden words: “The World’s Number One Sword”.

Xie Wangsun said, “Since ancient times, this is an honor no one in Jianghu has obtained. This is something the descendant of the Xie family greatly treasure, and greatly ashamed of.”

Yan Shisan asked, “Ashamed?”

Xie Wangsun replied, “Because since the laorenjia⁴⁴ (the old sir) passed away, not a single descendant of the Xie family had been deserving of this title.”

Yan Shisan said, “But right now it has been recognized that a person in Jianghu is worthy of these five words!”

There was just one person.

The third young master of the Xie family.

Xie Wangsun said, “That’s why talaorenjia (his, the old sir) former sword that he used in Mount Hua, was passed down to him right now.”

He also emphasized, “That sword had not been used in a while, only now was passed to him.”

Yan Shisan understood.

Other than “him”, who else was worthy of that sword?

Xie Wangsun asked, “Do you want to see this sword?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Yes, very much so.”

* * *

Another black cloth was lifted up, revealing a wooden stand.

The wooden stand had a sword. The sheath was black. Even though it was very old it was still preserved intact.

The apricot yellow sword tassel attached to the handle had faded and already lost its form. The classic form blade edge was still shimmering.

Xie Wangsun was quietly standing in front of this sword, like he was facing his most revere God respectfully.

Yan Shisan felt the same way. He felt even more pious than Xie Wangsun because he knew only this sword in the world could kill him!

Xie Wangsun suddenly said, “This was not made by a famous master blacksmith, nor is it an ancient sword.”

Yan Shisan said, “This is a famed sword unparalleled in the world.”

Xie Wangsun acknowledged, “Indeed it is.”

Yan Shisan said, “But what I truly wanted to see is not this sword.”

Xie Wangsun said, “I know!”

Yan Shisan said, “What I wanted to see is the owner of this sword, the current owner.”

Xie Wangsun said, “Right now you are already facing him.”

* * *

Yan Shisan was facing the wooden stand for the sword. Behind the wooden stand was something that was also covered by a black cloth. It was a long rectangular object.

Yan Shisan’s heart suddenly felt an indescribable jolt of coldness. It chilled from the head all the way to the bottom of the feet. He suddenly felt something kind of ominous. He wanted to ask but he daren’t to ask. He so much as to not even dare to believe, and not willing to believe. He only hoped this type of feelings was a mistake.

Unfortunately, he was not wrong. The black cloth was lifted up revealing a coffin. On top of the brand new coffin, there seemed to be eight to nine words.

Yan Shisan only saw the first three words: “Xie Xiaofeng…”

* * *

Although the light in the main hall was just as splendid as before, but no matter how splendid the lamp lights were it would not light up Yan Shisan’s heart. This was because the brilliance in his heart already disappeared.

The brilliance on the sword already disappeared —

The only sword that could kill him!

“Xiaofeng already died seventeen days ago.”

Obviously he did not died under Cao Bing’s sword. No one could defeat him! Absolutely no one.

The only thing that could defeat him was destiny!

— Each person has his own destiny. Maybe because Xie Xiaofeng’s destiny was so glorious that it was so brief.

Although his death was sudden, it was peaceful. Though the old man’s eyes was tearful, it was very serene!

“I am not terribly upset because he had lived enough. He life already had its worth and could die with no regret.”

He suddenly asked Yan Shisan, “Would you prefer to quietly live out the rest of your live or prefer to live like him for just three years?”

Yan Shisan did not answer or needed to answer.

— Are you willing to be a shooting star?

Or willing to be a candle?

— Though the light of a shooting star is brief, how could the countless sticks of candles be comparable to the splendor and beauty of a shooting star?

* * *

The lights in the main hall might be radiant, however Yan Shisan would rather walked into the darkness.

A boundless sheet of darkness between faraway mountains.

Yan Shisan suddenly asked, “You told me all those things is not because you already viewed me as a dead person.”

Of course not.

The Third Young Master was dead, how could he die?

Yan Shisan suddenly turned around, faced Xie Wangsun, and asked, “Why did you tell me all those things?”

Xie Wangsun dully replied, “Because I know you came here to die!”

Yan Shisan asked, “You knew?”

Xie Wangsun replied, “I could see your admiration and reverence toward Xiaofeng. You knew you had no chance to defeat him.”

Yan Shisan said, “Being coming here to die is not a matter worthy of respect!”

Xie Wangsun said, “Yes!”

He was laughing. His laugh had a sorrowful tone to it, “At least I respect you, because I would never have that courage. I am just an ordinary person, furthermore I am old…”

His voice was getting softer and softer; it was muffled as if it was a sigh.

The autumn wind was also muffled as it it was a sigh.

At this time, in the darkness there was flash of a person, a sword!

* * *

One person, one sword. The movement of the person was as vigorous as a hawk. The spurt of the sword as a quick as lightning.

This person appeared behind Xie Wangsun. The sword was aiming for his heart from the back.

When Yan Shisan saw it, it was too late to help him.

Xie Wangsun, yet, did not seem to have detected anything, he was merely sighing and bent down to pick up a dried leaf.

His movement was very slow. It seemed as if he decided to pick up this dried leaf on a whim.

His life was like this dried leaf; it was dried and withered. However, he coincidentally evaded this lightning strike like sword.

At this moment, the flash of the sword clearly could pierce through back of his heart, yet it pierced nothing but air.

The person that rushed forward had already committed his energy, there was no way to withdraw this attack. This person turned over from where his back was, the sword was directed at the Yan Shisan at the opposite side.

The momentum of the sword strike was still there, it was still enough to take someone’s life.

Yan Shisan had to counter attack. His sword left its sheath, the light of the sword flashed.

This person somersaulted in mid-air and fell back seven chi (feet) away, the pale green face was still intoxicated.

“Cao Bing!”

Yan Shisan cried and lost his voice. His tone carried three parts astonishment and seven parts pity.

Cao Bing stared at him. His eyes were filled with astonishment and fear. He wanted to say something but he couldn’t say it out.

His throat suddenly had a strand of fresh blood coming out, and then he collapsed.

* * *

The autumn wind was still sighing.

Xie Wangsun slowly picked up that dried leaf, quietly gazed at it, and seemed as if he still didn’t realized what had occurred.

In that split second, there was a person, whose life had withered and fallen like the dried leaf. Though the tree leaf life is short, it will grow again the following year.

How about human?

Xie Wangsun slowly bent his back again and gently put this leaf back on the ground. Yan Shisan had been looking at him, his eyes filled with admiration and respect. Till now he finally realized this person was more than meets the eye, an expert. His martial art had reached a godly stage, had already reach the stage of perfection, had already fused with the great nature. Therefore, nobody could even see it anymore.

— When the ruthless cold approaches, you can’t see its power yet imperceptibly it turned water into ice and can freeze a man to death.

“I am only an ordinary man…”

Wonder how much of his “ordinary” was created from the “extraordinary”?

How many people in the world can achieve this type of “ordinary”?

* * *

Yan Shisan did not say anything. Although right now he could see a lot of things but he did not say a single thing. He had learnt how to remain silent.

Xie Wangsun simply blandly said, “This night is already dark, you should leave.”

Yan Shisan said, “Yes.”


[End of Chapter 9]

---

[Footnote]
43. Du Mu’s “Mountain Travel” 杜牧 - <山行>. Du Mu is a famous Tang dynasty era poet.
44. laorenjia (老人家), a very respectful ways to address an old person.
45. Yinshan (阴山), the Yin mountains of Inner Mongolia.
46. Hua Shaokun(华少坤), not a typo but I think he was called Hua Yukun earlier. The difference is the middle character which means little or young.

click to show/hide spoilers

Editor's Notes

Translation difference:
• Line missing in the beginning after YSS answered "It's XWS.".
• “not polite” was incorrectly translated as “not a guest”. Note: In Chinese, polite is a compound of the words “guest air”…so maybe that’s why it’s wrong. <shrug>
• Updated translation of the poem, added footnote with some info.
• Section about XWS had many ‘errors’, most are words and description never used in the original text.
Example of changes: “bedroom” -> “wedding chamber” (technically correct but text was very specific), “young mistress” -> “big miss” (not the same), “too hesitant” never mentioned original text was “die of depression/grieve”, “too shy” -> “dare not to say” (word shy was never used), “my wife and I” - > “we” (word wife never mentioned), “became ill and die” -> “silently passed away” (word ill was not used), “page was a talented young man” -> “young study was a good child” (completely different),
• Second son’s location of battle was missing.
• When XWS talks about HSK, he mention XXF was around ten. This was missing.
• After YSS entered DSM, I changed from them going to a “house” to a “room” based on context. This is because even though wuzi typically means a house, it can also mean a room. Hell, it could be a single room ‘house’ since I believe a main ancient Chinese house, and especially manor, could consist of multiple small buildings.
• Lines missing after XWS said YSS had no chance to beat XXF.
• According to text sword was aiming at XWS “back heart”, not just the back.
• When YSS realized XWS was not ordinary, one line is missing after "I'm just an ordinary man..."

Originally translated by kara at 11/29/04. Reviewed and partially re-translated by kaister.

Chapter 10
Sword Is Present, Man Is Present

So he left.

The night was even darker, Xie Wangsun slowly walked through the dark courtyard and into a small storied building in the backyard.

The light on the upper floor of the building was rather desolate. There was an old and haggard madam quietly sitting next to the lone light waiting.

Who was she waiting for?

Xie Wangsun saw her. His eyes were immediately filled with tenderness; anyone would be able to tell what type of emotions he had.

They were an interdependent couple who had went through all the sadness, joy, and suffering in life.

She suddenly asked, “Ah Ji⁴⁷ did not come back yet?”

Xie Wangsun silently shook his head.

Her aged and tired eyes suddenly had a glister of tears; her voice was still full of confidence.

She said, “I know he would come back sooner or later. Don’t you agree?”

Xie Wangsun said, “Yes.”

* * *

As long as a person still has a little bit of hope, then life is worthwhile.

Hope always exists in the world.

* * *

The night was very dark. There was only a single lamplight on the shore of the dark lakeside.

The lamplight was coming out of the window of a fast boat. Shopkeeper Xie was sitting next to this light drinking alone.

Yan Shisan silently boarded the boat, silently sat across from him and poured a cup of wine.

Shopkeeper Xie saw him; there was a hint of smile in his eyes.

The boat slowly left the shore and entered the quiet lake water in the desolate night.

Yan Shisan drank three cups, then suddenly asked, “Did you know that I was going to be coming back?”

Shopkeeper Xie laughed and said, “Otherwise why would I wait for you!”

Yan Shisan lifted his head and stared at him, “What else do you know?”

Shopkeeper Xie raised his cup and said, “I also know that this wine is not bad. You should drink more.”

Yan Shisan also laughed and said, “Make sense.”

* * *

The boat was at the heart of the lake.

Shopkeeper Xie seemed to be slightly drunk. He suddenly asked, “Did you see that sword?”

Yan Shisan nodded.

Shopkeeper Xie said, “As long as that sword is still here, Divine Sword Manor will always exist.”

He softly sighed, slowly lifted his head, and said, “Even if the person is no longer here, the sword will always exist.”

There was a sword in Yan Shisan’s palm. He was currently looking at the sword in his palm. He suddenly walked out, walked out of the hold of the ship, walked onto the bow of the ship.

There was an impenetrable darkness on the lake. He suddenly drew out his sword and carved a “+” character on the boat. Afterward threw this sword, which accompanied him for twenty years and killed countless of people, into the heart of the lake.

After a splash of water, it returned to calmness. The sword had been xiaochen⁴⁸ (subdued).

Shopkeeper Xie looked at him in shock, He couldn’t help but asked, “Why don’t you want that sword anymore?”

Yan Shisan replied, “Maybe I will need it one day. At that time, I will come back.”

Shopkeeper Xie asked, “So you left a mark by carving a ‘+’ character onto the boat?”

Yan Shisan replied, “This is called ‘marking a ship, begging for a sword’⁴⁹.”

Shopkeeper Xie asked, “Do you know how stupid that is?”

Yan Shisan replied, “I know!”

Shopkeeper Xie asked, “If you know then why did you do it?”

Yan Shisan laughed and said, “Because I suddenly realized, a person in his lifetime would do a few stupid things. Besides…”

His laughter carried a hidden meaning, “…are some things really stupid or brilliant? Often, no one can decide.”

* * *

In the calm and quiet lake water and the calm and quiet night, the person was still here but the famed sword had been subdued.

* * *

Tonight where will you wake up in your drunken state?

The willow shore, early wind, and waning moon.

* * *

The autumn waned, winter solstice, and ruthless cold.

The cold wind was like knives. The great land was deserted. The heaven was heartless.

The vagabond had no tears.

* * *

Ah Ji was forging into the cold wind with it blowing onto his face. He pulled tightly onto his sole light jacket and walked out from the Han family alley. He simply had nowhere to go.

He only had twenty-three copper coins left on him. However he had to leave this place, leave these people that had treated him with kindness.

He did not cry.

A vagabond already had no tear, only blood. Right now even his blood was practically frozen.

* * *

The most famous figure in Han family alley was the great Madame Han. Madame Han was at the Han Place⁵⁰.

The Han Place was a brothel. The first time he saw Madame Han was on a ice cold yet damp bed.

The stiff cold wooden bed had traces of his vomit everywhere. It was filthy and smelly.

His situation was not any better than the bed. He had already been drunk for five days. When he woke up, he felt his dried throat, parched tongue, and his head hurting like it was cracking.

Madame Han, with her hands on her waist, stood before the bed looking at him.

She was seven chi (foot) or taller. Her waist was as thick as a water tank. Her short and thick fingers were full of gold and jade rings. The skin on her round face was very tight; it made her look slightly younger than she really was. When in a good mood, her eyes would occasionally show a child-like mischievous smiling expression. Right now, her eyes had no such expression.

Ah Ji was rubbing his eyes with might and opened his eyes wider; it was as if he wanted to make sure whether this person in front of his bed was really a man or a woman.

It was not common to see a woman like this.

Ah Ji struggled and wanted to sit up. His hangover was like a sharp needle that pierced through his body.

He sighed and muttered, “For the past two night, I must’ve been drinking like a drunk cat⁵¹.”

Madame Han said, “Not a drunk cat, like a dead dog⁵².”

She coldly looked at him, “You had been drunk for five whole days.”

Ah Ji was tightly grabbing onto his head. He was struggling really hard trying to remember what he did in those five days. However, he immediately gave up.

Madame Han, “You are not from around here right?”

Ah Ji nodded.

That was right, he came from a land from the outside, a far away outer place. It was so far not even he could not remember it.

Madame Han asked, “Do you have any money?”

Ah Ji shook his head. This he remembered, his last bit of silver was used to buy wine. However, where was he that time when he was drunk?

He had also forgotten.

Madame Han said, “I know you don’t have any money. I had already searched your entire body. You are basically poorer than a dead dog!”

Ah Ji closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep.

The alcohol in his body had already sucked away his energy. He only wanted to know, “Do you have anything else to ask me?”

Madame Han replied, “Only one.”

Ah Ji said, “I am listening.”

Madame Han asked, “A person without money, how does he pay his bill?”

Ah Ji said, “Pay?”

Madame Han said, “In these five days, you owe this place seventy-nine taels worth of wine bill.”

Ah Ji took a deep breath and said, “That’s not a lot.”

Madame Han coldly continued, “For people who don’t pay, we deal this with two methods here.”

Ah Ji was listening.

Madame Han asked, “Do you want to have one of legs broken, or three of your ribs?”

Ah Ji replied, “Anything.”

Madame Han asked, “You don’t care?”

Ah Ji said, “I only wanted you to do this quickly so I can leave.”

Madame Han was staring at him; her eyes were showing curiosity. Who exactly was this youngster?

How did he become so down-hearted and unrestrained? Was there a tangled knot in his heart? A painful memory he couldn’t forget?

Madame Han couldn’t help but asked, “You’re in such a hurry to leave, where are you going to?”

Ah Ji replied, “I don’t know.”

Madame Han asked, “Not even you know?”

Ah Ji replied, “I go wherever I’ll go.”

Madame Han stared at him again for a very long time. She suddenly said, “You are still young, still have energy. Why don’t you work to pay off the debt?”

Her eye became gentler, “I have a errand position here for you. Five part silver a day, are you willing to do this?”

Ah Ji said, “Whatever.”

Madame Han asked, “You don’t want to ask what this place is or what you will be doing?”

Ah Ji said, “I’ll do whatever.”

Madame Han laughed and strongly patted his back. “First, you go to the kitchen and pour a basin of water and wash yourself. Right now you look like a dead dog but stink like a dead fish.”

Her eyes were also revealing a smiling expression.

“People that work at my place, even if they are not human, should seem like they could look like a human.”

* * *

The kitchen was filled with the scent of white rice and meat soup. Anyone coming in from the cold courtyard would be able to feel its warmth and comfort.

The workers in the kitchen were a pair of married couple. The man was tall and strong but he was mute like a piece of wood. The woman was skinny and small yet was vicious like a piece of awl. Beside this couple, there were five more people in the kitchen.

Five women with unkept hair and clothes. Their faces still had the leftover makeup from last night and a hard to describe type of disgust and tiredness. Their ages ranges from twenty to thirty-five. The oldest had a pair of bulging melon-like bosoms and a pair of swollen eyes filled with degenerate and sinful carnal desires.

Later Ah Ji would find out she was the “elder sister” of these ladies. The patrons like to call her “Big Elephant”.

The youngest still looked like a child. Her waist was slim, breasts were flat, but was also the one with the most business —

Was this because men all had a beast like merciless cravings?

Seeing Ah Ji walked in, all these women seemed curious and surprised. Fortunately Madame Han followed in. The ladies all immediately lowered their head.

Madame Han said, “There are things only men can do. Every man here are either a log or a pimp⁵³. Right now, we at least found someone that look like a human.”

She strongly slapped on his shoulder, “Tell these female dogs what’s your name.”

Ah Ji said, “I am Ah Ji.”

Madame Han said, “You don’t have a surname?”

Ah Ji said, “I am Ah Ji.”

Madame used her force and struck his head. She laughed, “Although this kid has no surname, he has one good quality.”

She was laughing joyfully, “He doesn’t speak needlessly.”

* * *

Mouth is for eating and drinking, it doesn’t need to be used too much for words. Ah Ji never speak needlessly.

He quietly poured a basin of hot water and squatted down to wash his face. Suddenly a leg came out and kicked over his basin of water.

It was an extremely fat leg. It was wearing a red satin shoes embroidered with flowers.

Ah Ji stood up and looked at that round face with tightly stretched skin. He could hear the women chuckling, but the sound seemed very far away.

He could also hear Big Elephant loudly said, “You made my foot wet. Dry it quickly.”

Ah Ji did not say a single word. He quietly crouched down and used that washing cloth the mute gave him to wipe her fat foot.

Big Elephant also laughed, “You are an obedient child. If I do not have a customer tonight, you can secretly sneak in. I won’t charge.”

Ah Ji said, “I don’t dare.”

Big Elephant asked, “You don’t even have the gut to do this?”

Ah Ji said, “I am a useless man. I need this errand job to pay back my debt.”

Hence he was given the nickname “Useless Ah Ji”. However, he wasn’t a bit bothered by it.

* * *

Early evening when the lantern was first lit, the women changed to a shiny flower pattern clothes. Their faces were smeared with a thick layer of makeup.

“Useless Ah Ji, quickly pour tea for the customer.”

“Useless Ah Ji, go out and get a few catties of wine back.”

It wasn’t until all the way late at night where he could finally hide at the corner of the kitchen to rest for a short period.

At this time, the mute would fill a bowl of white rice with roasted red meat and watch him eat. His eyes would carry a sign of sympathy.

However, Ah Ji never looked back at him. Some people seem to never like to show any gratitude toward other people. Ah Ji was one of these people.

Because he didn’t have the courage and was useless. Till that day when two little punks carrying sabers wanted to eat and get serviced without paying, everybody finally realized he had another side. He wasn’t afraid of pain.

When the little punks with the sabers wanted to turn and leave abruptly, suddenly there was Useless Ah Ji blocking them.

The little punks coldly laughed, “You want to die?”

Ah Ji replied, “I don’t want to die but also do not want to starve to death. If you insisted on leaving without paying, you are essentially knocking off and breaking my rice bowl⁵⁴.”

As soon as he finished saying this, two sabers were pierced into his body. He did not even move, did not even blink. He just stood there and endured seven to eight blows.

The little punks looked at him shockingly and suddenly obediently took out money and paid.

Everyone was looking at him shockingly and wanted to go over to help him up but he left without making a noise. It was until after he went back to the little shed in the backyard that he finally collapsed. He collapsed on that cold hard bed, gritted his teeth, and was rolling about while pouring out cold sweat.

He did not want people to see him as a hero. He also did not want people to see his agony.

However the cloth door on the shed was quietly opened, A person quietly came in, quickly turned and covered the door, then leaned on the door. Eyes were looking at him. The gaze was filled with pity.

She had a pair of big eyes and a delicate pair of hands. Her name was Xiao Li⁵⁵. The customers like to call her Little Demon⁵⁶. She was currently using her pair of little hand to wipe away his sweat.

“Why did you do that?”

“Because this is the thing I should be doing.”

His reply was very simple, “I needed this errand job.”

“But you are still young. You have a lot of other things you can do.”

She seemed very caring and sympathetic.

Ah Ji did not even look at her. He coldly said, “You also have things you need to do. Why are you not doing it?”

Xiao Li still didn’t give up. She continued, “I know there must be a lot of pain in your heart.”

Ah Ji said, “I did not.”

Xiao Li said, “There must’ve been a woman in the past that caused you a lot of pain.”

Ah Ji said, “You saw a ghost.⁵⁷”

Xiao Li said, “If you had not been hurt in the past, why did you become like this then?”

Ah Ji said, “Because I am lazy and besides I am a drunkard.”

Xiao Li asked, “Are you also lecherous?”

Ah Ji did not deny; he was too lazy to deny.

Xiao Li said, “But it’s been a long while since you’ve been with a woman. I know…” Her voice became very strange and gentle. She suddenly held his hand up and pressed it onto her stomach.

She was completely naked under her thin silk garment. He could immediately felt the heat on her stomach.

Looking at his saber injuries and bloody cuts, her eyes lit up.

“I know your injuries aren’t light, but once me and you…I can promise I could make you forget your pain.”

She was speaking and pulling his hand caressing her body all over at the same time. The breasts on her flat chest were small but sturdy.

Ah Ji’s reply was only this, “Get Lost!” This and a slap.

She fell down facing upward. Her face had an expression of victory as if she wanted him to do this.

“You are really strong.”

She said.

Ah Ji kept his mouth shut. The saber wounds on his body was in pain as if it was burning and fiery flame. His heart also seemed to have a flame.

He had to use all his might to control himself.

However she seemed determined and wouldn’t let him go. She suddenly used on hand to pull his leg, and used the other hand to lift up the lower part of the clothes.

She had a low groan and her waist was turning. She was already wet.

At this moment, a hand came out and grabbed onto her hair. She was pulled away.

The fat, thick and strong hand was adorned with various rings.

* * *

When Madame came here, she was already drunk. Her hand still had wine.

“That little female dog is born to be a harlot.”

She was looking at Ah Ji in her drunken state. “She likes to be beaten by men. The harder you hit her, the more she gets excited.”

Ah Ji closed his eyes. He suddenly realized this half old and fat woman carried the same desire as Xiao Li in her eyes. He couldn’t bear to look.

“Come, drink some wine. I know the wine worm in your throat was already itching.”

She was chuckling and shoved the wine bottle in his mouth.

“Today you did a good thing for me. I have to properly reward you.”

Ah Ji did not move, did not have any reactions.

Madame Han furrowed her eyebrow, “Could it be that you are really a useless man?”

Ah Ji said, “I am.”

* * *

When Ah Ji opened his eyes, Madame Han already left. Before leaving, she left some silver on his bed.

“This is what you deservedly earned. No matter who endured seven to eight blows, it can’t be for nought.”

She was not a young lady after all.

“What happen at first, I know you would forget about it.”

Once Ah Ji heard her footsteps went out the door, he started to vomit. He cannot forget this type of thing.

Once his vomiting stopped, he went out. He left the silver in the rice bowl of the mute. Facing the cold wind, he left Han family alley. He knew he could no longer stay.


[End of Chapter 10]

---

Footnote:
47. Ah Ji (阿吉), ah has no meaning, it’s just a modifier typically attached to one character name. Ji means “lucky/blessed/fortunate”.
48. xiaochen (消沉), means downhearted, low-spirited, dejected, depressed. I’m using “subdued” because the other doesn’t sound right in this context.
49. kezhouqiujian (刻舟求劍), lit. “carve ship, beg sword”. An idiom meaning taking a pointless action without considering changes in circumstances.
50. Hanjialou (韩家楼), lit. means “Han family storied building”
51. zuimao (醉猫), simply an expression referring to a drunkard. I think it’s nice to keep it.
52. sigou (死狗), lit “dead dog”. This is an insult. Since dog as a insult mean subhuman, a dead dog would mean not even subhuman, i.e. even lower. I think…
53. guigong (龟公), lit male turtle. It pretty refer to a male hustler or pimp.
54. Breaking rice bowl is a Chinese saying that means “destroying my means to make a living”.
55. Xiao Li (小丽), lit. “little beauty”. It’s just a typical girl name.
56. yaojing (妖精), lit. ‘demon’ or more correctly ‘wicked spirit’. It’s a term that refers to an alluring woman.
57. nijianlegui (你见了鬼), lit. “you saw a ghost” is an expression that means “you’re hearing things”.

click to show/hide spoilers

Editor's Notes:

Differences:
- Added missing descriptive words, removed embellishment (words that were not in the original text.
- Idiom kezhouqiujian was left out.
- After dead dog insulted, two lines were missing.
- Don’t know how “big elephant” got mistranslated to “male elephant”.
- When XL pulled her leg, it never specify whose clothes was lifted up so I kept it ambiguous. kara thinks it’s his but I thought it’s hers…but either way doesn’t make too much sense, perhaps both.
- Racy line after above was not translated…lol…
- Missing line after MH said “Come, drink…
- At the end, Madame Han said “would forget” and “never forget” is pretty different.

Originally translated by kara on 11/30/04. Reviewed and partially re-translated by kaister.

Chapter 11
Crestfallen Vagabond

Very early in the morning.

The teahouse was crowded with people. All types of people were waiting for all types of jobs.

Ah Ji was using two hands holding and drinking from a bowl of hot tea.

There were steamed dumplings and deep fried bread. Ah Ji was very hungry but he could only drink tea. He only had twenty-three copper coins. He was hoping he could find some job to do.

He wanted to keep on living.

Recently he found out, it was not easy if a person wanted to keep on living. The difficulty of earning a living was definitely not something he could envision before. A person needed to sell out his honesty or labor. It required a certain path.

And he had no path.

Masons had their own union. Carpenters had their own union. Even porters and laborer had their own union. If you were not part of their union, it would be difficult to get any jobs.

He had starved for two days. On the third day, he couldn’t even afford to drink tea that cost seven pieces of copper coin. He could only stand there and drink air.

When he was about to collapse, somebody came over and patted on his shoulder. He asked, “Would you transport manure? About five cents a day.”

Ah Ji was looking at this person; he couldn’t even say a word because his throat was frozen.

He could only nod; he nodded non-stop. It was only till a long time later when he finally said his gratitude toward this situation at this time.

That was a sincere gratitude because what the person provided was not a manure transporting job but a chance to survive. He at least could live on.

The person’s name was Old Miaozi.

* * *

Old Miaozi really was a Miaozi⁵⁸ (Miao ethnicity).

He was tall, strong, ugly, and sturdy. When he smiled, he showed a mouth full of white teeth. His left earlobe was very long; there were leftover marks on it from wearing a ring.

He had been noticing Ah Ji for a while.

During the afternoon break, he suddenly asked, “How many days have you been starving?”

Ah Ji asked, “You can tell I’m hungry?”

Old Miaozi replied, “Today, you almost fell down three times.”

Ah Ji was looking at his leg. His leg still had traces of manures.

Old Miaozi said, “This is a strenuous job. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

Ah Ji asked, “Why did you pick me?”

Old Miaozi replied, “Because when I came here I was like you. I couldn’t even get a job like transporting manure.”

He took out a paper wrapped packet; inside there were two flat breads, and a dry salted radish.

He divided it in half and gave it to Ah Ji.

Ah Ji took it and ate. He didn’t even say “thanks”.

Old Miaozi looked at him, his eyes were smiling. He suddenly asked, “Tonight where are you going to sleep?”

Ah Ji replied, “I don’t know.”

Old Miaozi said, “I have a family. My family’s house is very big. Why don’t you sleep at my home tonight?”

Ah Ji said, “You told me to go, I’ll go.”

* * *

Old Miaozi’s house was indeed not small. At least it was bigger than a pigeon cage. When they came back, there was a white hair old lady cooking in the kitchen.

Old Miaozi said, “This is my mother. She can cook excellent food.”

Ah Ji already saw the vegetables and thick brown rice congee in the pot. He said, “I can already smell the aroma.”

The old granny laughed. She filled him a big full bowl. Ah Ji ate immediately after he took it, he didn’t say thanks either.

Old Miaozi eyes had a very satisfied look. He said, “His name is Ah Ji. He’s a good fellow.”

The old granny took a wooden ladle and struck her son. She said, “If I couldn’t tell, do you think I’ll let him eat?”

Old Miaozi asked, “Can he sleep here with us tonight?”

The old granny squinted her eyes and asked, “You’re willing to sleep on the same bed with my son? You don’t mind him?”

Ah Ji replied, “He doesn’t stink.”

The old granny said, “You’re a Han (Chinese ethnicity). Han typically think us Miaozi unbearably stink.”

Ah Ji said, “I am a Han. I stink more than him.”

The old granny laughed loudly. She again used the wooden ladle to tap on his head; the same way she hit her son’s head.

She was laughing and said, “Hurry, eat. Eat while it’s still hot. After you finished eating, go to bed and sleep so you’ll have energy for tomorrow.”

Ah Ji was already eating. He was eating very fast.

The old granny continued, “Wash your feet first, otherwise Wa Wa⁵⁹ would be mad.”

Ah Ji asked, “Who’s Wa Wa?”

The old granny said, “My daughter, and his younger sister.”

Old Miaozi said, “However she originally should be a princess. She was born to be a princess.”

* * *

The room in the back had three beds. The one that was the cleanest and softest was obviously the princess’s.

Ah Ji also wanted to see this princess. However he was too tired. After drinking down that hot vegetable congee, it made his eyelid as heavy as lead.

Although being stuffed together in a bed with a brawny man like Old Miaozi was very uncomfortable, he fell asleep very fast.

In the middle of the night, he woke up once. In the haziness, there seemed to be a girl with long hair at the window daydreaming. By the time he looked again she already squeezed into the quilt.

The morning of the next day, when they left for work she was still sleeping. Her entire body shrunk completely inside the blanket. It was as if she was avoiding an unknown dread.

Ah Ji could only see her jet-black, long, soft silk-like hair on her pillow.

* * *

The day wasn’t bright yet. The cold mist was still thick.

They were walking against the cold wind. Old Miaozi suddenly asked, “Did you see Wa Wa?”

Ah Ji shook his head.

He only saw her hair.

Old Miaozi said, “She works in the residence of a household with a very large mansion. She has to wait until they are all asleep before coming back.”

He was smiling and said, “Rich household typically sleep rather late.”

Ah Ji said, “I know.”

Old Miaozi said “But you’ll see her sooner or later.”

Old Miaozi’s eyes had a flicker of pride, “Once you see her, you would like her. We are very proud of her.”

Ah Ji could see this. He believed this girl was truly and undeniably a princess.

* * *

During the afternoon break, he was nibbling on the mantou (steamed bun) the old granny gave to him. Suddenly three people came over. Though they were wearing ragged clothes, they were wearing crooked hat and their waist were carrying a saber.

The saber wounds on his body hadn’t close up yet. It was still hurting.

The oldest of the three was assessing him with his triangular eyes⁶⁰. He suddenly stuck out his hand and said, “Give it here.”

Ah Ji asked, “Give what?”

Triangle Eyes said, “Although you are new here, you should still know the rule of this place.”

Ah Ji didn’t understand, “What rules?”

Triangle Eyes said, “The money you earned, I take thirty percent. We take one month worth first.”

Ah Ji said, “I only have three copper coins.”

Triangle Eyes coldly laughed, “Only three copper coins and yet you eat a wheat flour mantou (steamed bun)?”

He slapped the mantou out of Ah Ji’s hand, and it fell onto the ground with the manure.

Ah Ji quietly picked it back up and peeled off the outer layer.

He must eat this mantou. Otherwise how could he carry manure with an empty stomach?

Triangle Eyes laughed loudly and said, “Mantou dipped in manure, wonder what it taste like?”

Ah Ji did not open his mouth.

Triangle Eyes asked, “You will still eat this? Are you a human or a dog?”

Ah Ji said, “I am whatever you say I am.”

He bit a mouthful of the mantou, “I only have three copper coins. If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”

Triangle Eyes asked, “Do you know who I am?”

Ah Ji shook his head.

Triangle Eyes asked, “Have you heard of the name Chefu (Coachman)?”

Triangle Eyes said, “Chefu is under Big Brother Tietou (Iron Head). Big Brother Iron Head is the Big Boss’ little brother.”

He pointed at his own nose, “I am Chefu’s little brother. Why would I want your three stinking copper coins?”

Ah Ji said, “If you don’t want it, I’ll keep it.”

Triangle Eyes laughed loudly and then suddenly kicked his scrotum.

Ah Ji bent over in pain.

Triangle Eyes said, “If we don’t teach this fellow a lesson, he wouldn’t know how high the sky is and how deep the ground is⁶¹.”

The three people were prepared to attack when suddenly a person decided to rush over. He blocked their path. He was a head taller than them.

Triangle Eyes retreated half a step and shouted, “Old Miaozi, mind your own business.”

Old Miaozi said, “This is not other people’s business.”

He pulled Ah Ji up, “This person is my brother.”

Triangle Eyes was looking at his thick and muscular hand. He suddenly laughed and said, “Since he is your brother, can you guarantee he would give us the money after he get his wages?”

Old Miaozi said, “He would pay.”

* * *

At dusk, they brought their bodies covered with weariness and stink back home. Ah Ji face was also covered in cold sweat, that kick wasn’t light.

Old Miaozi looked at him. He suddenly asked, “If other people hit you, you never fight back?”

Ah Ji was thinking about it. After along while, he slowly said, “I used to work at a brothel before. The people there gave me a nickname.”

Old Miaozi asked, “What nickname?”

Ah Ji replied, “They called me Useless Ah Ji.”

* * *

The kitchen was warm and dry. When they reached the door, they could hear the old granny’s happy voice.

“Today our princess will come back to eat. We will have meat to eat.”

She laughed like a child, “Every one will get a piece. A very very big piece.”

The old granny’s laughter always made Ah Ji felt happy and warm inside. However this time was an exception because he finally saw the princess.

* * *

The cramp kitchen could not fit too many chairs. When every one was eating, they were all squeezed in and yet there was always an empty chair. They intentionally left this chair for the princess. Right now, she was sitting on this chair facing Ah Ji.

She had a pair of big eyes and a pair of very delicate hands. Her hair was jet black, soft, and silk-like. She had an air of elegance and tenderness, like she was a genuine princess. If this was Ah Ji’s first time seeing her, he would be like the other, revering and doting her.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time.

* * *

The first time he saw her was in Madame Han’s kitchen. It was next to Big Elephant. She had a pair of legs on the table, revealing her delicate legs. He did not even look at her, but she was secretly looking at him. Later on, he knew she was youngest and most popular among the women under Madame Han.

Her name there was “Xiao Li”, but every one liked to call her Little Demon.

The second time he faced her was the night he endured the saber blows, inside his room.

He never could forget her smooth and soft body under her thin silk garment.

He spent a great deal of effort to control himself and finally said something.

“Get Lost.”

He originally thought that would be the last time they will ever meet. Hard to imagine that right now he met her again.

That wanton and perverted Little Demon was actually their Wa Wa who was elegant like a princess. Also, their only hope of the entire family.

They were his friends who fed him, let him live here, and treated him like brother and comrade.

Ah Ji lowered his head. His heart was in pain, a pain that went straight to his bone.

The old granny already came over and pulled his hands. She laughed and said, “Come over here quickly and meet our princess.”

Ah Ji could only go over there, stammered and said, “How are you?”

She looked at him; her face had no expression as if she had never seen this person before. She only blandly said, “Sit down and eat some meat.”

Ah Ji sat down. At the moment, he could hear his voice saying, “Thank you princess.”

Old Miaozi laughed heartily. He said, “You don’t have to call her princess. You should be like us, call her Wa Wa.”

He picked up the thickest and biggest salted meat and gave it to Ah Ji. “Quickly eat some meat. Only when you’re full can you sleep well.”

* * *

Ah Ji could not sleep well.

It was already very late at night. The Old Miaozi sleeping next to him was snoring thunderously. On the next bed over, Wa Wa seemed to be asleep as well.

However, Ah Ji was lying on the bed and shedding cold sweats. This was not really because his heart was in anguish. The wounds on his body were causing him pain. It was too painful to bear.

Carrying manure was not light work. His wounds were not fully healed yet. Ah Ji never looked at his wounds. Sometimes when he was carrying the manure, he even felt the wound opening back up. However, he gritted his teeth and carried on.

Physical pain was not something he ever cared about.

However, he was not made out of metal after all. In the afternoon, he already discovered his wounds were beginning to stink and rotting away. Right when he laid in bed, his entire body was shivering non-stop. His body was constantly producing cold sweats. Afterward, his body was suddenly feverish.

Every single wound was burning.

He still wanted to forcibly control himself and forcibly hold it back. However his body was already convulsing in pain. It felt like his entire body was sinking; sank deep into a bottomless abyss. In his dream like state, he seemed to have seen a friend gasping in shock but he couldn’t hear it clearly. This faraway place, there also seemed to be a person calling out his name; it was very gentle, very far. This he could hear clearly.

* * *

A low spirited and dejected young man, a vagabond that had already shed all his tears, was like fallen leaves in the wind and duckweed in the water. He didn’t even have a root. Could it be that far away there was still a person that missed him, cared about him?

Since he could hear this person called him, why didn’t he go back and go to that person’s side? What kind of pain and sorrow did he have in his heart? He couldn’t tell anyone?

* * *

The sunlight was glorious. It was a clear day.

Ah Ji was not completely unconscious the entire time. He woke up many times. Every time he woke up, it seemed as if there was someone at the head of his bed gently wiping away his sweat. However, he could not see this person clearly because he immediately fainted again.

By the time he can see this person, the sunlight from outside the window was shining directly at her jet-black and soft hair.

Her eyes were full of concern and sorrow.

Ah Ji closed his eyes. However, he could hear her voice, “I know you don’t view highly of me. I don’t blame you.”

She actually seemed very steady because she was also trying to control herself.

“I also know there are a lot of pain in your heart. But you also don’t need to torture yourself like this.”

The room was very quiet. He couldn’t hear anyone else. Old Miaozi obviously already left for work.

He absolutely could not abandon a day of work because he knew only work would allow him to eat.

Ah Ji suddenly opened his eyes, looked straight at her, and said, “You should also know I wouldn’t die.”

Wa Wa understood, “If you wanted to die, you would’ve die many times over.”

Ah Ji asked, “Then why didn’t you go do your thing?”

Wa Wa replied, “I’m not going.”

Her voice was very calm. She dully continued, “From now on, I will not go back to that place.”

Ah Ji couldn’t help but asked, “Why?”

Wa Wa suddenly coldly laughed and retorted, “Do you think I was born to like to do that type of thing?”

Ah Ji stared at her. It seemed as if he wanted to peer into her heart. “When did you decide not to go back?”

Wa Wa said, “Today.”


[End of Chapter 11]

---

Footnote:
58. miaozi (苗子), here is referring to the Miao ethnicity in China.
59. Wa Wa (娃娃), typically means a ‘doll’, ‘baby’, or ‘small child’.
60. sanjiaoyan (三角眼), refers to eyes that looks like a triangle.
61. tiangaodihou (天高地厚), lit. “sky high earth thick”. Idiom referring to complexity of things.

click to show/hide spoilers

Editor's Notes

• Minor: “early in morning” instead of “bright sky”, “waiting for jobs” not “waiting to be served”, “dumpling” not “soup”, word choice “copper coins” instead of “pennies”
• Miaozi and Han are referring to the ethnicity, not the alternate meaning of “seedling” and “man”.
• Line missing after OMZ said AJ will meet her sooner or later.
• TE said they’re taking 30% of wages not divided into 3 parts.

Originally translated by kara on 11/30/04. Reviewed and partially re-translated by kaister.

Chapter 12
Love as Deep as the Ocean

Ah Ji closed his mouth. His heart started to ache again.

— No one was born willing to do that type of thing but every one wanted to live and wanted to eat.

— She was her mother and older brother’s only hope in their eyes. She wanted to let them have meat to eat.

— She couldn’t let them down.

— Her immoral and lowly ways was most likely because of the indescribable pain in her heart. Is that why she was deliberately torturing and degrading herself?

— However right now she had decided to not go anymore because she was not willing to let him look down on her.

If Ah Ji still had tear, he would most likely be shedding it right now. However, he was just a vagabond. Vagabond had no emotion and no tears.

Therefore he needed to go. He needed to leave this place. Even if he needed to crawl, he should crawl out.

Because he also understood the emotion she had toward him. He was unable to accept this love and was not willing to break her heart.

This family gave him a chance to live and gave him the warmth and love he had never felt before. He should not cause them any more grieve.

Wa Wa looked at him. It seemed as if she could see what was on his mind. “You wanted to leave again?”

Ah Ji did not answer. He was waving his hand trying to stand up. He used all the energy in his body to stand up and took big steps out.

Wa Wa did not stop him. She knew that though his body was not made out of metal, his will and determination were like steel.

She did not even stand up but her eyes were already welling up.

* * *

Ah Ji did not turn around. His current strength had no way of letting him go far. His wounds were starting to ache again. However, he had to leave. Even if he fell into a gutter rotting away like a dead rat right after he left, he wouldn’t mind.

Couldn’t believe that before he even step out of the door, the old granny came back carrying a basket of vegetables. Her benevolent eyes carried three parts condemnation. She said, “You shouldn’t get up. I specially went out to get you some meat stew. You’ll only have energy after eating it. Hurry and go back, lie on the bed, and wait for the food.”

Ah Ji closed his eyes.

— Does a vagabond really have no emotions, no tears?

He suddenly piled up all his strength and rushed out the door beside the old granny. Some things are impossible to explain, then why does it need to be explained?

* * *

The narrow alley was dark and damp, not even sunlight shine here.

He gritted his teeth trying to hold back the pain. He was walking out facing the wind. The alley entrance had a person staggering into the alley.

A person in a bloody mess. His clothes were already soaked red from blood. The bone on his face was cracked.

“Old Miaozi.”

Ah Ji called out in shock and lost his voice. He rushed forward and Old Miaozi rushed back here. The two people were holding onto each other.

Old Miaozi said, “Your injury have not heal yet. Why did you come out?”

His own injury was even worst but he wasn’t concerned. He was concerned about his friend instead.

Ah Ji clenched his teeth and said, “I…I…”

Old Miaozi asked, “Could it be that you wanted to leave?”

Ah Ji held onto his friend tightly and replied, “I’m not leaving. If you kill me, I still won’t leave!”

Five saber wounds, four broken ribs…if it wasn’t a man of iron, who would be able to endure this?

The old granny was looking at her son; tears in her eyes were whirling.

Old Miaozi, however, was still laughing. He yelled, “These little bit of injury is nothing. I’ll be better tomorrow morning!”

The old granny asked, “Why are you injured?”

Old Miaozi replied, “I fell and tumbled down the stair.”

Even an old lady who couldn’t see the big letters from a large store sign, could see these were not injuries from a fall.

Even falling from a seven to eight zhang⁶² (yards) high stair wouldn’t result to injuries like this.

However, this old granny was not like other old ladies. She could tell these were not injuries from a fall. She was more concern about her son than other people.

But she did not question any further. She was tearing up and said, “Next time walking up the stair, you must be extra careful.” Afterward, staggered back and went on to cook her meat stew.

This was what a woman was supposed to do. She understood when men do things, they didn’t like women being nosy. It was the same even if this woman was his mother.

* * *

Ah Ji was watching her rickety view of her back. Even if his eyes had no tear, at least it should be already red.

— What a great mother. What a great women. Because there are these types of women in the world, humankind could last forever.

After she went into the kitchen, Ah Ji finally turned his head back and stared at Old Miaozi. He asked, “Who injured you like that?”

Old Miaozi was laughing again, “Who injured me? Who dare to injure me?”

Ah Ji said, “I know you’re not willing to tell me but do you really wanted me to go ask around?”

Old Miaozi’s smile stiffened. He kept a straight face and said, “Even if I was beaten by other people, it is my business. You don’t need to go ask around.”

Wa Wa, who was standing by the window far away, said, “Because he was afraid you’ll go get beaten too.”

Ah Ji said, “I…”
Wa Wa interrupted him and coldly laughed, “Actually he didn’t really have to worry about that. Even if he was beaten because of you, you will not defend or avenge him.”

She coldly continued, “Because this Useless Ah Ji never likes to get in a fight.”

Ah Ji’s heart sank and head was lowered too.

Now he knew why his friend got into a fight. He did not forget that pair of ferocious triangular eyes.

It was not that he didn’t know. Wa Wa’s words were as sharp as a needle, but there were tears in her words. However he couldn’t avenge his friend. He could not get into a fight. He also did not dare.

He hated himself. He hated it very much.

At this time, he heard a voice coldly said, “It’s not that he dislike fighting. He just doesn’t want to get beaten up.”

* * *

This was the Triangle Eyes’ voice.

He was not the only one that came. The two young fellows that was carrying saber on their waists were with him. A man with long face and long legs with his hands crossed on his hip was standing behind them. He was dressed in shiny and satin clothes.

Triangle Eyes stuck out his thumb and pointed at that person at the back. He said, “That is our boss, ‘Chefu’ (Coachman). These two words even if you take it to a pawn shop, you can get back couple hundreds of taels.”

Old Miaozi’s muscle on his face twitched. He said, “What are you people doing here?”

Triangle Eyes’ gloomily laughed and said, “You don’t need to worry. Hoodlum hit ninety-nine but wouldn’t hit one more.⁶³ This time we are not here for you.”

He went over and swatted Ah Ji’s head and said, “This little punk is a bastard but we also wouldn’t bother coming here looking for him.”

Old Miaozi asked, “Who are you people looking for?”

Triangle Eyes replied, “Looking for your beloved sister.”

He suddenly turned around and stared at Wa Wa. His triangular eyes had a ferocious glint, “Little lady, let’s go!”

Wa Wa’s expression changed, “You…you people want me to go where?”

Triangle Eyes coldly laughed, “We’re going to where we’re supposed to go. Don’t act like a goddamn fool in front of us.”

Wa Wa was retreating backward and asked, “Are you telling me I can’t even rest for a day?”

Triangle Eyes said, “You are currently the hottest person under Madame Han. If you took a day off, do you know how much money we’ll lose? Without income, what are our brothers gonna eat?”

Wa Wa said, “But Madame Han promised me. She…”

Triangle Eyes said, “The words she promised you are as good as rubbish. If it were not for us brothers, till today she would’ve been nothing but a wh*re. An old wh*re. Being a wh*re a day, can sell for a day…”

Wa Wa did not let him say the last word. She said, “I’m begging you people. Please let me go for two days. They are both injured. The injuries aren’t light either.”

Triangle Eyes said, “They? Who’s ‘they’? Sure one is your old brother, who the hell is the other guy?”

The two sabers carrying young fellows interrupted, “We remember this punk. He was a guigong (pimp) at Madame Han’s place. He must have a relationship with this little wh*re.”

Triangle Eyes said, “Good, very good.”

He suddenly turned around and slapped Ah Ji’s face with the back of his hand.

“Can’t believe this little wh*re still has this little punk. If you still wouldn’t come with us, we’ll neuter him.”

He lifted his leg again and kicked Ah Ji between his legs.

But Wa Wa threw herself over and on top of Ah Ji’s body. She said with a coarse voice, “I rather die than go back with you people. You people might as well kill me first.”

Triangle Eyes bellowed, “Stinking wh*re, you really wanted to die?”

This time before he lifted his leg up, Old Miaozi already held onto his shoulder. He asked, “What do you call her?”

Triangle Eyes answered, “A wh*re. A stinking wh*re.”

Old Miaozi did not say anything else. He held up his fist the size of a bowl and punched out.

Triangle Eyes suffered the fist blow. However, he, himself, also suffered two kicks from the people on the side. His head was sweating out cold sweat and dripping all over the floor.

The old granny charged out from the kitchen with a vegetable knife on her hand. She yelled out with a coarse voice, “You bunch of bandits. This old granny going to stake her life with all of you.”


The knife was directed toward the back of Triangle Eyes’ neck.

She, of course, did not hit her mark.

Triangle Eyes had already taken her knife from her hand. Triangle Eyes also threw her body down to the ground.

Wa Wa pounced over holding her. She immediately lost her voice and painfully cried. A person who had endured all of life’s misery and poverty, and already in the flickering stage of her life⁶⁴, how would she be able to endure such a throw?

Triangle Eyes coldly said, “This is her asking for death…”

Once the word “death” came out, Old Miaozi madly bellowing with anger and staggered forward with all his might. He was already covered up with cuts and bruises and couldn’t even stand up steadily but he can still stake his life!

He was already prepared to risk his life.

Triangle Eyes yelled out, “So you also wanted to die?”

His hand was still hold that vegetable knife he had taken. As long as it’s a knife, it can kill.

He wasn’t afraid of killing someone. Without trouble he chopped the knife toward Old Miaozi’s chest.

Old Miaozi’s eyes were already red. He had no intention of dodging and yet this blow struck nothing but air.

On the knife’s downswing, Old Miaozi was pushed away. Ah Ji pushed him away.

Ah Ji could no longer stand up steadily. However, he actually stood up. He stood up in front of Triangle Eyes. Facing Triangle Eyes’ knife, he said, “You…You people have gone too far, push people too far…”

His voice was hoarse and couldn’t even finish his sentence.

Triangle Eyes coldly laughed, “What are you going to do? Could it be you wanted to avenge them?”

Ah Ji said, “I…I…”

Triangle Eyes said, “As long as you have the guts, take this vegetable knife and kill me.”

He actually really held the vegetable knife out to him, “As long as you have the guts to kill, I will hand it to you and consider you brave.”

Ah Ji did not take the knife.

His hands were trembling. His entire body was trembling. He was trembling non-stop.

Triangle Eyes laughed heartily. He grabbed Wa Wa’s hair and sternly said, “Let’s go!”

Wa Wa did not leave with him. His hand was held back. It was held back by a pair of extremely strong hands. He only felt his hands almost being crushed.

This was actually Ah Ji’s hands.

Triangle Eyes lifted his head and was shocked and stared at him. He said, “You…You dare touch me?”

Ah Ji said, “I don’t dare. I don’t have the guts. I don’t dare kill nor do I want to kill.”

He slowly loosened his hands.

Triangle Eyes immediately bellowed out, “Then I will kill you!”

He again without any effort swung the knife toward Ah Ji’s throat.

Ah Ji did not even move and did not even dodge. He simply gently threw out a fist, struck out a fist.

Triangle Eyes attacked first but before his knife even touch Ah Ji, Ah Ji’s fist already hit his chin.

His entire body suddenly flew outward. With a “peng” (crashing) sound, he crashed through a window. He flew out farther away. With another “dong” sound, he hit the short wall and finally fell down. His entire body was soft and paralyzed as if he was a pile of mud!

Every one was in shock. They were staring at Ah Ji in shock. Ah Ji did not look at them. His eyes were empty and blank as if he had no expression and also as if it was filled with pain.

Chefu, who was standing at the door with his arm crossed, suddenly yelled out, “Hang him!”

This was a “slang”⁶⁵ from the city folks. It meant he wanted someone to kill him!

The two saber carrying young lads hesitated but finally drew out their sabers. The two sabers had dealt seven to eight blows on Ah Ji’s body before. Right now, it was directed toward his vital points at the same time. However, this time it struck air.

The two young and strong lads suddenly fell down. They also fell down like a pile of mud.

Because Ah Ji chopped with his hands. He chopped on their throat. When they fell down, they didn’t even make a noise.

Chefu’s facial expression had terribly changed. He was retreating back one step at a time.

Ah Ji did not even take a look at him with his eyes. He blandly said out, “Stop.”

Chefu actually listened. He really did stop.

Ah Ji said, “I originally did not want to kill anyone, why do you people have to force me?”

He hanged his head and looked at his own hands. His eyes were filled with sorrow and pain because this pair of hands was drenched in blood now.

Chefu suddenly lifted his chest and yelled, “Even if you kill me, don't even think you can get away with this!”

Ah Ji said, “I’m not running away.”

His expression was even more painful, “Because I already have nowhere to run.”

Chefu hanged his head and then suddenly attacked. He threw a flying dagger toward his chest.
However this dagger suddenly flew back and hit his own right shoulder and buried straight to his joint.

This hand of his could no longer kill anyone!

Ah Ji said, “I’m not killing you only because I wanted you to go back. Tell your Big Brother Iron Head and tell your Big Boss, I’m the one who killed these people. If they wanted revenge, they can come find me. There’s no need to drag the innocent into this.”

Chefu’s head was full of bean size cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and said, “Good little punk, you have guts.”

He turned around and flew out. He suddenly turned his head and said, “If you really have the gut then tell me your name.”

Ah Ji said, “I am Ah Ji, the Useless Ah Ji.”

* * *

Dark night. Gloomy lamplight.

The mournful light was shining on the old granny’s corpse, and also shining on the pale faces of Wa Wa and Old Miaozi.

This was their mother. The mother who had painfully raised them. What could they give back to her?

Ah Ji was standing at a dark corner of the house far away. With his head hanged low, he suddenly did not want to face them anymore.

Old Miaozi suddenly turned his head and looked at him. He said, “You should go!”

He face was twisted from the grievance. “You help avenge our mother. We should be thankful, however…however right now we can no longer make you stay.”

Ah Ji did not move and did not open his mouth. He understood what Old Miaozi meant. He wanted him to go because he didn’t want to burden him anymore.

But he would never go.

Old Miaozi suddenly bellowed, “Even if you owe us, you already paid that back. Why are you still here?”

Ah Ji said, “If you really want me to leave, there’s only one way.”

Old Miaozi asked, “What way?”

Ah Ji replied, “Kill me and carry me out.”

Old Miaozi was looking at him. Hot tears couldn’t be contained in his eye sockets. He yelled, “I know you know martial art, therefore you think you can go against them. But do you know what kind of people they are?”

Ah Ji replied, “Don’t know.”

Old Miaozi said, “They have money and power. The fighters under their Big Boss are around three to five hundreds. The most dangerous amongst them are Iron Head, Iron Hand, and Iron Tiger. It was said they were pirates that killed without batting an eye. It was because the government were hunting them down too closely, they changed their name and hid here.”

He continued bellowing, “Even if your martial art is not bad. Go against these three is simply a path to death.”

Ah Ji said, “I originally do not have any path I can go.”

He hanged his head low and his face was in the shadow. Old Miaozi could not see the expression on his face, yet could hear the sorrowful pain and determination in his voice.

Sorrow and pain are also a strength that allows people to do things they would not normally do.

Old Miaozi finally took a deep sigh and said, “Fine. If you wanted to die, it’s not bad dying together with us.”

There was just a person outside coldly said, “Good, very good.”

* * *

With a loud “peng” sound, there was a hole on the thick wooden gate.

A fist was sticking in from outside and then retreated back.

Then with a loud “bang”, a hole also appeared on the brick wall on the side.

This person’s fist was extremely hard.

Ah Ji slowly came out of the shadow and went over to open the door.

A group of people was standing outside the door. The tallest was wearing very grand clothes. He was kneading his left fist with his right hand. He crossed his eyes sizing up Ah Ji. He asked, “You are that Useless Ah Ji?”

Ah Ji replied, “I am.”

This person said, “I am Iron Fist Ah Yong.⁶⁶”

Ah Ji said, “Whatever your name is, it’s all the same.”

Iron Fist Ah Yong coldly said, “But my fist is not the same.”

Ah Ji said, “Oh?”

Iron Fist Ah Yong said, “I heard you have guts. If you have courage to take on one of my punch, I’ll say you have guts.”

Ah Ji said, “Please.”

Old Miaozi’s face changed. Wa Wa was tightly holding onto his hand. The two people’s hands were ice cold.

They could both see that Ah Ji didn’t want to live anymore. Otherwise why would he be willing to directly suffer a punch from the iron fist that could smash through the wall?

Regardless, they were at a dead end anyways. Dying a bit earlier was still dying. Dying a bit later was still dying. So what if you died?

“Your mother, let’s die then!”

Old Miaozi suddenly rushed out and hollowed, “If you have the guts then punch me first.”

Iron Fist Ah Yong said, “Can do.”

He said he would hit so he did. A punch went straight out, powerfully and directly, to Old Miaozi’s face.

Every one could hear the sound of bone cracking. However, what cracked was not Old Miaozi’s face. What cracked was Iron Fist’s hand.

Ah Ji suddenly attacked and punched directly onto his fist. Turned over his hand and then another punch and ferociously sliced onto his abdomen.

Iron Fist Ah Yong curled up like a shrimp and flopping around in pain.

Ah Ji stared at the group behind him. These people were carrying sabers but not a single one of them dared to make a move.

Ah Ji said, “Go tell your Big Boss. If he wants to take my life, find a better skilled fighter. People like this are not worthy!”


[End of Chapter 12]

---

Footnote
62. Chinese units are base 10 system, so 7-8 zhang is really 70-80 chi, in which 1 chi is approximately 1 feet in length. Therefore, 7-8 zhang is about 70-80 feet.
63. Chinese saying “光棍打九九，不打加一” (lit. giving above) means no matter how terrible a person bully the other they would not go to the extreme and push that person to the brink.
64. fengzhucannia (风烛残年), lit. “wind candle, ruined year”. It’s an expressing the declining with one foot in the grave. It’s like a already candlelight flickering in the wind that can go out any moment.
65. chundian (唇典), lit. “lip dictionary” refer to a ‘coded’ language people used to communicate within a group. I’m translating this as slang.
66. Ah Yong (阿勇), yong means “brave”.

click to show/hide spoilers

Editor's Note:

A major difference is that I’m separating text the EXACT same way the book is showing it. Gu Long didn’t like long “paragraph”, if you can even call it that. Segments of text that were combined before are now separated. Not always, but 98% of time it’ll be like this. I also kept all the section breaks (i.e, the * * *). Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out pattern section breaks are added. Also, added a lot of long dashes, “—“ before certain lines like in the books.

• Line missing after AJ said he’s not leaving.
• After AJ knocked TE out, CF was saying a slang and line was missing explaining this ‘slang’.
• “Iron Fist” is more accurate than “Iron Arm”, note Tiequan is the same character as Tekken.
• youzhong is “have guts or having courage” not sure how it got translated to “like a human”.

Originally translated by kara on 1/07/07. Revised and partially re-translated by kaister.

Chapter 13
The Green Clothed Military Advisor

The maple leaves in the backyard were already red. The autumn chrysanthemum flowers were brilliantly golden.

The Big Boss had his hand behind his back and stood in front of the chrysanthemum flower. He muttered to himself, “When the large crabs from Yangcheng Lake⁶⁷ is delivered here, it might be possible that’s when the chrysanthemum’ll be blooming the best.”

He comfortably let out a sigh. He continued to mutter, “Now that would be perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

There was a group of people standing behind him. A middle age man dressed in green color long robe, who looked like a xiucai⁶⁸ (scholar) who’d failed the imperial exam, was the closest to him. Iron Head Ah Yong, whose hand was wrapped in bandages, stood the farthest away.

No matter whoever was standing close or standing far away, no one dared to disturb the Big Boss admiring flowers.

The Big Boss bent his back and seemed as if he was smelling the flower but then suddenly attacked and caught a flying insect with his two fingers. Then he slowly asked, “What did all of you say his name is?”

The green robe man was looking at Iron Fist Ah Yong.

Ah Yong said, “His name is Ah Ji, the Useless Ah Ji?”

The Big Boss said, “Ah Ji? The Useless Ah Ji?”

He pinched his two fingers and pinched the bug to death. He suddenly turned around and stared at Ah Yong. He said, “He is called the Useless Ah Ji and you are called Iron Fist Ah Yong?”

Ah Yong said, “Yes.”

The Big Boss asked, “Is your fist harder or his?”

Iron Fist Ah Yong lowered his head and looked at his fist wrapped in white clothes. He could only admit, “His fist is harder.”

The Big Boss asked, “Are you braver or him?”

Iron Fist Ah Yong replied, “Him.”

The Big Boss asked, “Are you useless or him?”

Iron Fist Ah Yong replied, “Me.”

The Big Boss sighed and said, “Then why didn’t you change your name? Call yourself Garbage Ah Gou (dog)?”

Iron Fist Ah Yong’s pale white face already became twisted.

The green robe man who was silently standing there suddenly straightened his body and said, “He’d already tried his best.”

The Big Boss suddenly sighed again. He waved his hand and said, “Tell him to get lost.”

The green robe man said, “Yes.”

The Big Boss said, “Use some money and tell him to treat his injuries. After his injuries are healed, tell him to come see me again.”

The green robe man immediately yelled, “The Big Boss told you to go to the accounting room and get one thousand taels of silver. Go show your thanks.”

Ah Yong immediately kowtow like pounding garlic. The Big Boss, however, sighed again. He looked at the green robe man and bitterly smiled, “You just gave out one thousand taels. You are certainly a generous person.”

The green robe man smiled and said, “It’s a pity I’m simply using other’s wealth to show this generosity.”

The Big Boss laughed loudly and said, “Your biggest good point is that you can say honest words.”

Once his laugh stopped, the green robe man quietly said, “I still have a few honest words.”

The Big Boss immediately waved his hand and said, “Leave.”⁶⁹

Everyone immediately left.

The courtyard was quiet. The maple was red and chrysanthemum was yellow. The sunset already disappeared. It stretched the Big Boss’s shadow across the ground.

He was admiring his own shadow. He was short and fat yet admired long and skinny people.

The green robe man was skinny and long but when he bent down the Big Boss would not need to look up to him.

He bent his back and still kept his voice down. “That Useless Ah Ji is definitely not a useless person.”

The Big Boss was listening. When this person spoke, the Big Boss paid extra attention.

The green robe man said, “Iron Fist Ah Yong came from Kongtong. Although in the recent years talents in Kongtong are few and far between, their special martial art still has its own degree of excellence.”

The Big Boss said, “Kongtong’s not bad.”

The green robe man said, “Among the Kongtong disciples, Ah Young always has the strongest hand. Before getting kicked out of the school, he already got rid of Shaolin's four big monks and Wudang’s two swords.”

The Big Boss said, “These are all things I know. Otherwise why would I waste eight hundred taels of silver a month to use him?”

The green robe man said, “However that Useless Ah Ji simply crippled him in an instance. As you can see, Ah Ji is not ordinary.”

The Big Boss coldly laughed.

The green robe man said, “The strangest thing is that within several hundreds li (miles) around here, no one know where he comes from.”

The Big Boss said, “You investigated this already?”

The green robe man said, “I had already sent out sixty-three men. They are all the most knowledgable of these lands. Right now thirty-one already came back. None had any information.”

The Big Boss was originally slowly walking forward. He suddenly turned his head and stood there. He said, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

The green robe man said, “Leaving this person around, would sooner or later become a disaster.”

The Big Boss said, “Then you hurry and send a person to do him in.”

The green robe man said, “Get who?”

The Big Boss said, “Iron Head.”

The green robe man said, “Da Gang’s⁷⁰ “Slick Head to the Top”⁷¹ martial art is indeed something very few can compare to.”

The Big Boss said, “I saw him break a tree with his head with my own eyes.”

The green robe man said, “It’s a pity Ah Ji is not a tree.”

The Big Boss said, “His hard martial art is not bad either.”

The green robe man said, “Not much better than Ah Yong’s Iron Fist martial art.”

The Big Boss said, “You think not even he could handle that Useless Ah Ji?”

The green robe man said, “Not absolutely impossible, just that I’m not too sure.”

He slowly continued, “I remember the Big Boss once told us we should never do thing we’re not sure of.”

The Big Boss smiled, nodded, felt really satisfied. He liked it when people remembered his words, better if they remember all his words.

The green robe man said, “I’ve been thinking back and forth. There is only one person we have that have a good chance against him.”

The Big Boss said, “Iron Tiger?”

The green robe man nodded and said, “The Big Boss also obviously know about his background. This person is extremely clever. When he usually fights, he never likes to reveal his real martial art but is already stronger than both Da Gang and Ah Yong.”

The Big Boss asked, “When can he finally come back?”

The green robe man replied, “This time his errand is not that easy. From what I can tell, the fastest would be ten days later.”

The Big Boss lowered his face and asked, “Right now could it be that we have no way to deal with that Useless Ah Ji?”

The green robe man said, “Of course we do.”

He smiled and said, “We only need one word to deal with him.”

The Big Boss asked, “Which word?”

The green robe man replied, “Drag.”

He further explained, “We have kung fu and money. For them, even having meals are questionable. Beside they have to guard against us; it must be hard for them to even sleep. Being like this for three to five days, we don’t have to do anything. They’ll collapse having things dragged on like this.”

The Big Boss laughed loudly and patted his shoulder with force. He said, “Good fellow. I have to hand it to you. No wonder other people need to call you Zhuyeqing⁷² (Bamboo Leaf Green).”

Zhuyeqing is a type of strong alcohol. Very few people do not get drunk drinking this. Zhuyeqing is also a type of poisonous snake that’s fatal.

The Big Boss suddenly asked, “Even if we don’t go look for them, what if they come look for us?”

Zhuyeqing asked, “When a person come out to fight to the death, would he bring a heavily injured dumb brute and a harlot that only knows how to prostitute herself with him?”

The Big Boss replied, “No.”

Zhuyeqing said, “Therefore, if he comes out to get us, he’ll have to leave that Miaozi behind.”

The Big Boss said, “He can hide them.”

Zhuyeqing said, “The city is all our people. Beside we have already sent people around their surrounding to spy on them. Where can he hide them?”

The Big Boss coldly laughed, “Unless they could crawl in the ground like earthworm.”

Zhuyeqing said, “This time Ah Ji was willing to come out to risk his life was all because of that pair of brother and sister. If they are on our hand, how would Ah Ji escape the palm of Big Boss’s hand?”

The Big Boss laughed and said, “Good. We’ll stay here to enjoy the flower and wine while we wait for them to come out and die.”

Zhuyeqing smiled and said, “I can guarantee that within three days, they would come.”

* * *

Sunset.

Wa Wa carried a bowl of meat soup. Tears were dripping into the bowl one drop at a time.

Meat soup would not make people cry. What made her cried was the person who bought the meat and made the soup.

Right now the meat soup was still here but the person was buried in the yellow earth. Who has the heart to eat this soup?

However, she must make them eat because they needed the energy. A hungry man would not have any energy.

She dried her tears before carrying a wooden tray with two bowls of soup and two mantou from the kitchen.

Ah Ji was still at the corner in the shadow. She first put a bowl of soup and a mantou on the table in front of him.

Ah Ji did not move and did not open his mouth. Wa Wa then carried the wooden tray in front of her older brother. She gently said, “The soups are still hot, you should all eat quickly.”

Old Miaozi said, “How about you?”

Wa Wa said, “I…I’m not hungry.”

Was she really not hungry? How could a person that hadn’t eaten in two day and one night be not hungry?

She was not hungry only because this was the last of their food and because they needed energy more than her.

Old Miaozi lifted his head and looked at her. He still managed to hold his tears. He said, “My appetite is not good and couldn’t eat this much. We’ll each have a half.”

Wa Wa also held onto her tears. She said, “Isn’t it fine for me to not eat?”

Old Miaozi said, “No.”

Right when he was about to split the mantou in half, Ah Ji suddenly stood up and said, “Give this soup to Wa Wa.”

Old Miaozi immediately yelled, “No, that is yours.”

Ah Ji ignored that, took giant steps, and went out.

Wa Wa went over and grabbed him. “Where are you going?”

Ah Ji said, “I’m going out to eat.”

Wa Wa asked, “There are food in the house, why are you going out to eat?”

Ah Ji replied, “Because I don’t like mantou.”

Wa Wa stared at him and asked, “If you don’t want to eat mantou, what do you want to eat? Do you want to eat tietou (iron head)?”⁷³

Ah Ji kept his mouth shut.

Wa Wa’s tears finally fell out. She gently said, “I understand your intention. Dragging on like this, not even I can handle it. Not to mention you. However…”

She was crying like it was pouring and sadly said, “However you must also know that the people inside the city are their men. Why should you go there to die?”

Ah Ji said, “Even if I’m going there to die, it is at least better than waiting for death here.”

* * *

The bleak night.

No matter how beautiful the night was, in the view of a bleak person the night was simply bleak.

The autumn wind started blowing. A ma'am selling sugar chestnuts was wearing a green headscarf and calling out what she was selling in the dark alley.

Outside the opening of the alley was a blind man asking for food. He was trembling holing himself at the corner of the wall.

Ah Ji went over and suddenly stopped. He said, “What are you selling?”

The ma'am said, “Sugar chestnuts. Good smelling and sweet sugar chestnuts. Twenty-five big coins⁷⁴ for one catty.”

Ah Ji said, “Not expensive.”

The ma'am asked, “How much do you want to buy?”

Ah Ji replied, “One hundred catties.”

The ma'am said, “But I only have about ten catties. “

Ah Ji said, “Including you, it’ll be about one hundred catties. I want to also buy you.”

The ma'am shrank back, forcibly smiled and said, “I only sell chestnuts, not people.”

Ah Ji said, “I must buy you.”

He suddenly attacked, in one grab seized the front piece of her cloth.

The ma'am yelled, “Bandit wanted to rape a woman…”

She only yelled out a few words before her chin was pinched.

Ah Ji coldly said, “If you are a woman, why do you have a beard?”
 The person’s chin was cleanly shaved but there were still traces of beard on it.

Ah Ji said, “I believe you’re a madman. A madman should be beaten to death.”

This person desperately shook his head. He said, “I…I’m not. I am not mad.”

Ah Ji said, “If you are not mad, then why are you selling sugar chestnut here? People here are so poor they could barely eat.”

The person was in shock, his eyes filled with fear.

Ah Ji said, “If you don’t want me to kill you, tell me who sent you here.”

Before this person speak, the beggar squatting by the wall suddenly leapt up and ran away.

— The people here were so poor they rarely had rice to eat. If someone were not mentally ill, why would he come here to beg?

Ah Ji coldly laughed suddenly said, “Right now your buddy already ran away. If you don’t say any honest words, it seems like even if you’re beaten to death here like a wild dog no one would come back to collect the body.”

This person didn’t dare not speak. He said, “It’s….It’s Zhuyeqing who sent us here.”

Ah Ji said, “Who is Zhuyeqing?”

This person said, “He’s the Big Boss military advisory. He’s also one of the two most popular figures in the eyes of the Big Boss.”

Ah Ji said, “Who is the other one?”

This person said, “It’s Iron Tiger. His martial art is much better than Iron Head. Between him and Zhuyeqing, one’s the scholar and the other’s a warrior. No one can provoke him.”

Ah Ji said, “Do you know where he is right now?”

This person said, “I heard he is doing something outside. He will come back half a month later.”

Ah Ji said, “What about Iron Head?”

This person said, “He has three mistresses. His third mistress is the most favored and she loves to gamble. Therefore, they are usually there.”

Ah Ji said, “Where do you live?”

This person was shock. He said, “Daye (Master) asking where xiaoren (this little person) live for what?”

Ah Ji said, “If I ask you, just answer. A dead person has no home.”

The person made and painful expression and said, “In Sesame Alley.”

Ah Ji said, “Who else is in your home?”

The person said, “Wife, children, and including a servant girl — a total of six people.”

Ah Ji said, “Right now it’s eight people.”

The person didn’t understand, “Why?”

Ah Ji said, “Because I’m inviting two guests on your behalf to stay at your place for two days. If you leak anything of this out, I can promise you your household will only have one person left.”

He coldly continued, “Only that servant girl.”

* * *

Night.

The lamplight was shining on Iron Head Da Gang’s bald head. It was shiny like a bottle gourd that had just been dipped in a bucket of oil.

This shinier his head was indicated he was delighted. Tonight there were more customers than usual, gambling more than usual. Beside the “cut”, he and the third mistress had already won more than a thousand taels of silver.”

Right now the tile on his hand was a “Two-Four”, six points. Even though it was not great, it was not bad either. The other tile was in the third mistress’s hand. The mistress collar was already undone, revealing a snow-white powdered neck. She was holding onto her tile with a green scallion like slender lily-white hand. She was glancing at him and asked, “How is it?”

Iron Head Da Gang said, “What do you want?”

The third mistress replied, “Gold Six Silver Five Small Bench!”

With a loud “bang” noise, the “Four-Six” was already slammed on the table. [What? It said “Two-Four” earlier. =/]

The third mistress immediately raised her eyebrow. She chuckled and said, “What I wanted is the male monkey you have.”

The tile on her hand was impressively the “Ding-Three” tile. Iron Head laughed loudly, “What I wanted is exactly the female monkey you have. We are indeed a perfect match.”

“Ding-Three” matched “Four-Six”, a monkey jade pair, Monkey King.⁷⁵

Iron Head yelled, “Monkey King, all kill!”

He lifted he sleeves and was about to collect all of the money on the table. Suddenly a person coldly said, “Can’t take it.”

* * *

In the third mistress’s residence, the gambling area was always open. As long as you had money to lose, you were allowed to come in. From three religions nine schools⁷⁶ (people of all trades) to just about anyone were here.

Iron Head was not a man that was afraid of things and no one dared to cause any trouble here before. However the person speaking was a complete stranger and didn’t seem like he intended to gamble here.

What he was dressed in was too dirty, too worn. No one knew how he managed to come in.


[End of Chapter 13]

---

Footnote
67. Yangchenghu (阳澄湖), a freshwater lake northeast of Suzhou famous for Chinese mitten crabs.
68. xiucai (秀才), is a scholar who had passed the county level imperial exam but not the national level yet.
69. Actual text is closer to “go retire”, i.e. dismissing people or telling people to leave.
70. Da Gang (大刚), lit. “big hard”.
71. youtouguanding (油头贯顶), youtou lit. is “oil head” which mean a slick-headed (cunning) person or literally an oily head. Guanding lit. the top of the skull. This is not a Chinese saying afaik so I have no idea what it means…
72. Zhuyeqing (竹叶青), literally means “bamboo leaf green”. Originally I typed it as “Zhu Yeqing” but later I found out it’s not his real name so I changed it to “Zhuyeqing”. I don’t want reader to think his surname is Zhu with a given name, Yeqing. As mentioned, people call him Zhuyeqing as a reference to the wine and snake with the same name so you’re supposed to read Zhuyeqing as whole phrase anyways.
73. mantou (馒头), lit. means “steamed bread head”, which itself is supposed to be a homophone of “barbarian head”. This is why Wa Wa made a comparison to “iron head”.
74. big coins (大钱), lit. “big money” is simply a bigger copper coin that’s worth more than the smaller copper coin. Otherwise, it’ll be taels of either actual silver and gold, which are worth more than copper money.
75. I assumed they’re playing Pai Gow, Chinese domino game, with means “Match Nine”. I’m not really knowledgable about the game. Monkey King is the highest pair in Pai Gow, which is a “1-2” (Ding-Three, also the only 3pt tile) pair with “2-4” tile giving you 3+6=9. There’s only one of each tile in the set. Since it’s call the Monkey King, I assume “female monkey” is another name for “1-2” and “male monkey” is “2-4”. What threw me off is that text initially said Iron Head has the “2-4” tile but later said he has “4-6” tile. Just remember, the true Monkey King tile is the “2-4” tile, a “4-6” is a completely differently tile and will never form the Monkey King. However, I check the text several time and it did say “4-6” in the text so as illogical as it seems to me…I’m gonna leave it. I have no idea what she means by “Gold Six Silver Five”…maybe she’s saying she wanted a 6 point tile (since she’s holding a 3pt tile, they’ll score 9) but a 5 point (score 8) is good too. Your score is the single digit value, e. g. a 5+7=12 (drop tens place, 2 point scored). So maybe if you’re asking for a “gold six silver five”, you’re indirectly saying you’re holding the only 3-pt tile in the set…maybe…I dunno the game.
76. sanjiaojiuliu (三教九流), refers to three religions (Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism), and nine schools of thoughts (the Confucians, the Taoists, the Yin-Yang, the Legalists, the Logicians, the Mohists, the Political Strategists, the Ecletics and the Agriculturists). It's a saying that refers to people of various trades.

click to show/hide spoilers

Editor's Note:

- BB asked AY who's “braver or more courageous” not “stronger”.
- When BB said the green man was generous, his response was mistranslated.
- BB mentioned DG’s hard martial art not being bad, NOT questioning AJ’s hard martial art.
- Comparison to AJ’s iron fist erroneously translated to “much much stronger” instead of “not much stronger”. I think, original translation mistakenly thinks they are talking about AJ instead of DG.
- I notice a few times the translation has a line that’s a question, whereas no question mark is used in original source. Example: translation > “How can you have strength if you are hungry?” VS original Chinese > “A hungry man would not have any energy.”
- Woman said about “10 catties” not “30 pounds”. Note: 1 catty is about 1.33 pound so it’s neither a word replacement (replacing catty with pound) nor a unit conversion (13 pounds).
- It was only him and the third mistress gambling so it's "the third mistress" NOT "his three mistresses". Nothing in the text suggested his other two mistress were there. Hell, the text didn't really mention them.
- Had some trouble translating the gambling section…check my note.
- Missing the last section of the chapter. I checked it seemed to be moved to the next chapter. Don’t know why.

Originally translated by kara on 1/08/07. Revised by kaister.

Chapter 14
No Fear Knowing There Are Supports


Iron Head Da Gang glared at him and said, “Are you the one talking rubbish at first?”

Although this person was not much to look at, he attitude was very calm. He blandly said, “I am not talking rubbish. I am speaking fair words!”

Iron Head Da Gang, “You said I couldn't take it? Why can’t I take it?”

This person said, “What makes you think you can take it all?”

Iron Head Da Gang, “Based on my pair of Monkey Kings!”

This person said, “Unfortunately the pair of tile on your hand is no longer the Monkey King.”

Iron Head Da Gang held back his anger and asked, “What’s it call?”

This person said, “The clean shaven head Zhu Bajie⁷⁷, pay everyone!”

Iron Head Da Gang’s expression changed. Every one’s expressions changed. Everyone could tell this fellow intentionally came here to cause trouble.

Who had such audacity to intentionally come here to cause Big Brother Iron Head trouble?

The brothers all jumped and stood up. One after another yelled, “You little bastard! What’s your name?”

This person replied, “I’m Ah Ji, the Useless Ah Ji.”


* * *

The room immediately became silent. The brothers inside the city, of course, all heard of the name “Ah Ji”.

Iron Head Da Gang suddenly laughed. He said, “Good. Good little punk. You really have guts to actually come here by yourself!”

Ah Ji said, “I only came here to take a look.”

Iron Head Da Gang asked, “Look at what?”

Ah Ji replied, “To look at your head and see whether it’s really an iron head!“

Iron Head Da Gang laughed again, “Good, laozi⁷⁸ (I, your father) will let you take a good look!”

He suddenly carried the table with a marble top. The table, which was at least seventy to eighty catties, seemed like a bundle of paper in his hand.

There are many types of stone. Marble is one of the most expensive and one of the strongest. He actually slammed his head onto it.

Just heard a “bo” sound, this marble thicker than niangao (New Years rice cake) was smashed into pieces by his head.

His head, on the other hand, was just as shiny as a bottle gourd taken out of a bucket of oil.

His brothers immediately loudly cheered, “Great!”

Once their cheering stopped, Ah Ji slowly added, “Great…great…what a great Zhu Bajie!”

Iron Head Da Gang, who was originally standing proudly and arrogantly from his own act, changed his expression again. He angrily said, “What did you say?”

Ah Ji said, “I said you are a Zhu Bajie because beside a pig who would be stupid enough to slam his own head against stone.”

Iron Head Da Gang maliciously laughed, “What should I slam it against? You?”

Ah Ji said, “Fine.”

Right after he said this word, Iron Head pounced on him like a tiger and grabbed his shoulder, and lifted him up like the way he lifted up the stone table.

Iron Head not only had an impressive head, these few moves were also fast and accurate. He knew he was not hitting on a table but a live person with arms and legs. Therefore when he first attacked he grabbed Ah Ji’s jianjingxue (shoulder well acupoint) so he couldn’t move and then hit him with his head.

No person could withstand a direct hit from his head. It seemed like this Useless Ah Ji would soon become a Lifeless Ah Ji.

His brothers started cheering again. However, this type of cheering stopped very fast because Ah Ji was not slammed and shattered, the iron head, on the other hand, was smashed.

It was smashed by a fist. Any one who had their jianjingxue (shoulder well) held onto, their hands shouldn’t be able to move.

Couldn’t believe that Ah Ji’s hand was still moving.

Iron Head’s skull was supposed to be harder than metal was nevertheless unable to withstand this hand’s light strike.


* * *

The miserable cries and struggles had already stopped. The atmosphere in the room became so stifling.⁷⁹

Ah Ji also did not move and stood there. His dark brown eyes were devoid of emotions; it seemed so deep one could not see its bottom.⁸⁰

Every one was looking at him. Every one was carrying a weapon but no one dared to move.

This Useless Ah Ji actually managed to make these men, with their saber smeared in blood all the time, to have an indescribable fear arisen in their heart.

— Who exactly is this person?

— Why is he so calm after killing a person?

— How many people had he killed before? Right now what was he thinking in his heart?

No one could hear him shouting in his heart, “I’ve killed someone again. Why do I need to kill people again?”


* * *

The autumn wind was rustling the window paper. Ah Ji finally lifted his head and found a woman standing in front of him. It was an extremely beautiful woman who carried a type of unexplainable enchanting and alluring charm.

He knew she must be Iron Head’s third mistress. She was standing very close to him and was staring at him for quite a while. Her eyes had a very strange expression. It was not sorrow and pain nor hatred; it was amazement and confusion.

The room full of people had quietly left the place. She was the only one left behind.

Ah Ji coldly said, “I’ve killed your man!”

The third mistress said, “If you don’t kill him, he would eventually die under another person’s hand!”

Her voice was calm to the point of being cold, “A man like him was born to be killed.”

Ah Ji said, “It’s possible I would kill you too. You should have left a while ago.”

The third mistress said, “The person who should leave is you.”

Ah Ji coldly laughed.

The third mistress said, “You killed Iron Head. The Big Boss would absolutely not leave you alone.”

Ah Ji said, “I intended to wait for him here!”

The third mistress looked at him and her expression was evidently even stranger. She suddenly said, “I recognize you. I definitely had seen you before.”

Ah Ji said, “You must be mistaken!”

The third mistress said, “Absolutely not.”

She spoke confidently, “I am a prostitute. I’d become a prostitute when I was fourteen. I’d also seen quite a few men but there were very few like you.”

Ah Ji’s eyes suddenly had a very strange expression. He slowly turned around and walked out.

The third mistress was looking at his back. Her eyes suddenly lit up and yelled, “I remember. You are…”

She did not finish her words because Ah Ji turned around like a flash of lightning and covered her mouth and held her up from her waist.

He did not want to kill her but he must seal her mouth. He absolutely could not let anyone know his secret.


* * *

The light in the bedroom was soft.

He tossed her onto the bed. She faced upward lying on the bed looking at him. There were suddenly tears in her eyes. She melancholy said, “How did you become like this? How did you change so much?”

Ah Ji said, “Every one would change!”

The third mistress said, “But no matter how you changed, I will still recognize you!”

She was holding back her tears and said, “Do you know, in my whole life, the only man I had truly love was you…you of course wouldn’t know. I am simply one of the countless women you had before and furthermore simply a lowly whor*.”

Ah Ji was silent for a while. His voice became very gentle, “I also remember you. You are Jin Lanhua!⁸¹”

She looked at him and suddenly bitterly cried and lost her voice. She threw herself over and hugged him, “As long as you remember me, I’m willing to die.”

Ah Ji said, “But I wish other would forget me!”

She tightly held onto him. Tears were dripping onto his face. “I know. I will listen to you. I will absolutely keep your secret, even if I die I will never say it.”


* * *

The Big Boss, in his life, had three things he was the proud of. One of them was that he had the world biggest bed.

Not only was it big, it was exquisite and glamorous. No matter where you went, you would not find a second one.

This was not an exaggeration.

Right now was the afternoon; the Big Boss was still lying in his bed. His most beloved nine concubines were with him in bed.

A servant girl quietly walked in. She stammered, “Ye-xiansheng⁸² (mister) said there’s an urgent matter and he must see laoye (master).”

The Big Boss was about to sit up but laid down again. He said, “Tell him to come in!”

His concubines protested, “We’re like this, how could you tell another man to come in?”

The Big Boss smiled and said, “This man is not a problem.”

Someone asked, “Why?”

The Big Boss blandly said, “Because to me he is more useful than the nine of you combined.”


* * *

Although he hadn’t slept all night, Zhuyeqing still looked radiant and there wasn’t a sign of tiredness.

The Big Boss often said he was so full of energy he was like a weaving machine. As long as the Big Boss wanted him to move, he would not stop.

The hanged his head and stood in front of the Big Boss bed. He eyes did not wandered. The nine beauties in his eyes were completely beneath contempt. Regarding this, the Big Boss was very satisfied.

He first let Zhuyeqing sit down. Afterward, he asked, “What is this urgent matter you’re speaking of?”

Although Zhuyeqing obeyed and sat down, he immediately stood back up. He lowered his head and said, “Ah Ji discovered the spy I sent there and sent the Miaozi brother and sister away.”

His head was even lower, “This is my negligence. I underestimated that Useless Ah Ji. Big Boss, please severely punish me.”

He first explained the matter in the simplest term, and then admitted he made a mistake and asked for disciplinary actions. This was the way he did things. He never shielded from his mistakes and definitely never pushed away responsibility. This was the type of behavior the Big Boss admired the most. Therefore even though his eyebrows twitched, his tone was not stern, “It is difficult for anyone to not make mistakes. Sit down and talk!”

Zhuyeqing said, “Yes!”

After he sat down, the Big Boss finally asked, “When did this happen?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Yesterday night after midnight!”

The Big Boss asked, “Till now, you still haven't found them?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “We know Ah Ji’s whereabout but we still don’t know where’s the Miaozi brother and sister.”

The Big Boss asked, “Where’s Ah Ji?”

Zhuyeqing said, “At Da Gang’s third mistress’s place.”

The Big Boss’s face sank, “Then Iron Head had already been….?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Yes.”

The Big Boss asked, “When did he go?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “A little after midnight!”

The Big Boss face looked even worst. He asked, “He, in one hour⁸³, could hide two grown adults like the Miaozi brother and sister which you spent an entire night of effort and still couldn’t find?”

Zhuyeqing stood up again. He lowered his head and said, “Few places could hide this pair of brother and sister. I’d already sent out people to search for all the place that could’ve hidden them and still couldn’t find them!”

The Big Boss coldly laughed and said, “Couldn’t imagine this Useless Ah Ji, not even you can go against.”

Zhuyeqing didn’t dare to speak.

This time the Big Boss did not let him sit down. After a long while, he finally slowly asked, “Did he kill Iron Head with his own hands?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “From what the witnesses at the scene said, he shattered Iron Head with one palm.”

The Big Boss expression had changed again. He said, “Did anyone see what type of martial art he used?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “No.”

He supplemented, “It’s because no one know where his martial came from, you can see that he must have a huge background.”

The Big Boss said, “Recently in Jianghu, is there anyone that suddenly disappeared?”

Zhuyeqing said, “I’d already investigated on this. Recent Wulin expert who had disappeared without a trace are either the great bandit Zhao Duxing⁸⁴, Tianshaxing Zhankong⁸⁵ (Killer Star Battles Air), and Swordsman Yan Shisan.”

The Big Boss knitted his brows again. Of course, he had heard of these three famous names before.

Zhuyeqing said, “But these three people’s body size and shape, look, and age do not match Ah Ji even for a bit.”

The Big Boss coldly laughed, “Are you saying this man fell from heaven or crawl up from earth?”

He suddenly tightly gripped his fist and mightily hit on the small table at the bed. He sternly said, “It doesn’t matter where he is from, let’s do him in first. After a person is dead, we no longer need to investigate his background.”

Zhuyeqing said, “Yes.”

The Big Boss said, “It doesn’t matter what method you use. It doesn’t matter how much you spend. I want his life!”

Zhuyeqing said, “Yes.”

The Big Boss’s orders were usually carried out immediately. However, this time, Zhuyeqing still hadn’t left yet.

This was something that had never happened before. The Big Boss angrily said, “Do you still have something to say?”

Zhuyeqing was hesitating. He finally lifted up his courage and said, “He is all by himself. It’s not hard for us to take his life but our losses would be heavy.”

The Big Boss asked, “What exactly is your point?”

Zhuyeqing said, “This person is like a saber that had left its sheath. It’s a matter of who’s holding onto it!”

The Big Boss asked, “So you’re saying you wanted me to purchase this saber?”

Zhuyeqing said, “He is willing to throw his life away for the Miaozi brother and sister merely because they showed him some kindness. If the Big Boss gives him some benefit, who knew maybe he’ll be willing to die for the Big Boss?”

The Big Boss muttered to himself irresolutely. His expression slowly turned warmer. He said, “You think we can buy him out?”

Zhuyeqing, “Everyone has a price. We should at least try!”

The Big Boss said, “Who should go?”

Zhuyeqing bowed and said, “I wanted to personally go myself!”

The Big Boss said, “Since he’s a saber that had left its sheath, it hard to say whether you’ll see blood bumping him. Why must you put yourself in danger?!”

Zhuyeqing said, “I, from the top to bottom, belongs to the Big Boss. Let alone a few drops of blood?”

The Big Boss suddenly got out of bed, held onto his hand, and said, “I do not have a son. You are my son. You must be extra careful!”

Zhuyeqing kept his head low. It seemed hot tears would flow out any moment. Even spectators on the side were touched.

Once he left, the Big Boss finally let out a deep sigh. He told his concubines, “Now you all could tell whether he is really more useful than the nine of you combined?”

The woman with the beauty mark at the corner of her mouth and passionate eyes said, “I could only see one point!”

The Big Boss asked, “Which point?”

The woman said, “This man knows how to flatter a person more than the nine of us combined!”

The Big Boss laughed out loud and said, “Well said, well said.”

His laughter suddenly stopped and stared at this woman. He said, “Whatever I wanted you to do, are you willing to do it?”

This woman took this chance to act coquettishly and slithered around him like a snake. She asked, “What do you want me to do?”

The Big Boss coldly said, “I want you to sleep with him starting from today!”


* * *

Ah Ji was still sleeping. He was too tired and desperately needed to sleep. There were too many things he needed to do. He needed to recuperate his energy.

When he woke up, Jin Lanhua was lying next to him looking at him with her eyes wide open. Her eyes were full of tenderness.

Yet Ah Ji closed his eyes. He asked, “No one came yesterday night?”

Jin Lanhua replied, “No.”

Ah Ji relaxed all the muscles on his body, yet his heart tense up.

He knew the moments before a wild storm were usually the most oppressive moments. It was like how the moments before dawn are usually the darkest.

What type of changes awaits them in the future? What type of result would show up at the end? He didn’t know.

He only knew he was involved in this matter and he couldn’t let go. Because once he let go, Old Miaozi, Wa Wa, and Jin Lanhua would all die.

The most important aspect was that he knew there were countless people in the city that were in a fire pit waiting for him to rescue them.


* * *

The room outside suddenly had footsteps.

The footsteps were very heavy as if it was meant for people to hear. Afterward Ah Ji heard someone coughing.

He was waiting for this person to come in. He waited for a while. Outside, on the other hand, became very quiet.

Jin Lanhua’s face was pale white. She could not guess who came. However if this person dared to come confront the person that shattered Iron Head, he must’ve came with no fear because he had supports.

Ah Ji patted her head, slowly stood up, and wore his clothes. He had already felt that the person outside must be the most difficult to handle.


[End of Chapter 14]

---

Footnote
77. Zhu Bajie (猪八戒), the pig-like character in Journey to the West, also called Pigsy. You know as opposed to Monkey King.
78. laozi (老子), lit. “old man”. Slang for father. People will use this term on other to show contempt as in “yo i’m yo father so you better respect my authority…” type of deal; obviously subject’s not really the father of the target.
79. Phrase was literally “room was so stuffy it was suffocating”. Chinese used in the case is “men” (闷), which means either bored or stuffy. In this context, it obviously does not mean bored. The idea is that they are in such a state of shock, they have a hard time breathing.
80. Phrase is directly translated, “no emotion, as if it was bottomless” simply means “bottomless no emotion” or “extremely emotionless”. This entire could be translated as “He was very emotionless.” I take an effort to retain these because these are the types of literary charm often lost in translation. The way an author uses words is like a literary ballet. However, it depends on how lazy I am…=)
81. Jin Lanhua (金兰花), surname Jin means gold, given name means orchid.
82. xiansheng (先生), means “mister” in modern context. However, in an archaic sense it means “teacher”. It’s simply a respectful way to address a scholarly and smart person. I don’t want to directly translate it to teacher because he’s not literally a teacher. In fact, I think “mister” sounds better. Just background info on the term.
83. sichen (时辰), is a two-hour period used in ancient China, which separate a day into 12 two-hour periods. Original text said “half a sichen” so I translate this as “one hour”, the modern equivalent.
84. Zhao Duxing (赵独行), surname Zhao, given name means “lone walker/traveler”.
85. Tianshaxingzhankong (天杀星战空), lit. “sky kill star battles air”. I translated tianshaxing as “killer star” and “zhan” as battle “kong” as air.

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Editor's Notes

Three minor issues, otherwise the chapter translated pretty well. Most complete I’d seen.

• Missing first line of the chapter.
• Previously half a sichen (Chinese two hours period) is translated to “half an hour” even though is more correctly “half of two hours” or simply “one hour”.
• After ZYQ said AJ is simply all by himself and not hard to take his life, there are several lines omitted.

Originally translated by kara on 1/10/07. Revised by kaister.

Chapter 15
Human Affairs Has No Constant


Iron Head’s corpse had already been sent away. The “Monkey King”, the last thing he held, was still on the table.

Zhuyeqing was sitting beside the table. He was gently touching this pair of tiles. He smiled and said, “It is said that the chance of getting this pair of tile is one in ten thousands. In other words, even if you play Pai Gow every day of your life for fifty years you’ll only get this thirty times!”

He was not talking to himself. He already knew Ah Ji came out and was quietly looking at him.

He smiled and turned his head. He continued and asked, “So no matter who can get this pair, their luck must be very good!”

Ah Ji said, “The person that had that card yesterday, his luck wasn’t good.”

Zhuyeqing sighed and said, “This is precisely what I wanted to say. Human affairs do not happen in a regular, consistent way. Who could maintain their good luck forever?”

He lifted his head and gazed at Ah Ji. He unhurriedly said, “So once the opportunity comes, you must seize it and never let go.”

Ah Ji asked, “What do you want to say?”

Zhuyeqing, “Right now, gexia’s (your) chance has come!”

Ah Ji asked, “What chance?”

Zhuyeqing said, “Common people rushing about their entire life working so hard, what do they wish to gain? It is simply for two words, ming-li (fame and wealth).”

He smiled and continued, “Right now, gexia (you) finally have this chance. It’s certainly something worthy to congratulate and celebrate.”

Ah Ji’s eyes were fixated on him; it was like a nail pinned onto the wall. He suddenly asked, “So you are Zhuyeqing?”

Zhuyeqing was still smiling. He said, “My surname is Ye, name is Ye Qingzhu⁸⁶ but every one likes to call me Zhuyeqing!”

He was still smiling; his smile was a bit strange.

Ah Ji asked, “Did the Big Boss tell you to come?”

Zhuyeqing admitted.

Ah Ji said, “Then I want to tell you something!”

Zhuyeqing asked, “What?”

Ah Ji replied, “A person struggled their entire life, sometimes is not for fame and wealth.”

Zhuyeqing asked, “Beside these, what else?”

Ah Ji replied, “Also two words, li-xiang (an ideal) !”

Zhuyeqing, “Ideal?”

He really did not understand what this word means. “What exactly do you want?”

Ah Ji said, “I wanted everyone to freely and comfortably live out their lives as they wish.”

He knew Zhuyeqing would not understand these words. So he explained, “Even though there are some who betray their conscience, there are also some who are willing to stay poor and to suffer hardships. Because if they are at peace, it doesn’t matter if they suffer some hardship!”

Zhuyeqing asked, “There are really this type of people?”

Ah Ji replied, “I have a lot of friends who are this type. There are still plenty who are like this. Unfortunately you people would not let them live their own lives, so…”

Zhuyeqing asked, “So what?”

Ah Ji said, “So if you want me to leave, I have only one condition!”

Zhuyeqing asked, “What condition?”

Ah Ji said, “As long as you let these people go, I’ll let you people go. If the Big Boss personally promise me to never force anyone to do anything, I’ll leave immediately.”

Zhuyeqing asked, “You really need the Big Boss to tell you in person?”

Ah Ji said, “Absolutely.”

Zhuyeqing asked, “Can one hundred thousand taels change your mind?”

Ah Ji replied, “Can not.”

Zhuyeqing was considering. He slowly said, “You are truly willing to meet the Big Boss?”

Ah Ji said, “I am willing to meet him today!”

Zhuyeqing asked, “Where do you want to meet?”

Ah Ji replied, “Anywhere he wants!”

Zhuyeqing asked, “Is Madame Han’s place fine?”

Ah Ji replied, “Fine.”

Zhuyeqing asked, “Is dinner time good for you?”

Ah Ji replied, “Good.”

Zhuyeqing immediately stood up and prepared to leave. He suddenly had a smirk, “I haven’t ask you. What is your name?”

Ah Ji said, “Ah Ji, the Useless Ah Ji.”

* * *

As he was watching Zhuyeqing leave, Ah Ji looked at the “Monkey King” again and thought for a long time. He was thinking about the words Zhuyeqing said at first.

— Once the opportunity comes, you must seize it and never let go.

He did not think anymore because he suddenly thought of something very frightening. By the time he rushed back into the room, Jin Lanhua was indeed missing.

The Big Boss was on a big a comfortable jiaoyi (ancient Chinese folding chair). He was looking at the Zhuyeqing, who was standing in front of him, and felt a bit sorry in his heart.

This person had already worked for him for six years. He was doing much harder work than anyone, yet enjoyed and relaxed far less than anyone.

Right now, not only did he stay up all night without sleep, he hadn’t even eaten yet. Furthermore, he did not even look tired. Being able to do the Big Boss’s bidding was he greatest glory and comfort.

— Loyal and studious people like him, right now are far and few in between.

The Big Boss was sighing in his heart. He then asked, “You have already met Ah Ji?”

Zhuyeqing nodded his head and said, “That person is definitely like a saber drawn from its sheath. It’s also a very good saber.”

The Big Boss asked, “Have you bought him yet?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Right now, not yet.”

The Big Boss asked, “Is it because his asking price is too high?”

Zhuyeqing said, “I went with one hundred thousand taels worth of banknote. However once I saw him, I knew even if I have ten times more it would be useless.”

The Big Boss asked, “Why?”

Zhuyeqing said, “When I arrived, the table was stacked high with money. He not only haven’t touch it, he didn’t even look at it once.”

He also added, “He was supposedly so poor he didn’t even have enough to eat, and still did not even pay attention to those money. As you can see, what he wanted isn’t this.”

The Big Boss asked, “What exactly does he want?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “He only had one condition. He want us to let people live the way they wanted.”

The Big Boss asked, “What does this mean?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “This means he wanted us to let go and stopped all businesses we’re doing right now.”

The Big Boss face sank.

Zhuyeqing said, “He also wanted to see you once and have you personally promise him!”

The Big Boss asked, “What did you say?”

Zhuyeqing said, “I’d already help you arranged a meeting with him. Tonight at Madame Han’s place.”

The Big Boss’s eyes were fiery with anger. He coldly asked, “When did you started making arrangements on my behalf?”

Zhuyeqing lowered his head and said, “No one dares to make decision on Big Boss’s behalf!”

The Big Boss asked, “And you?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “I only help the boss set up a trap for him to personally bring his neck here.”

The Big Boss changed the way he sat. The expression on his face had gotten better.

Zhuyeqing said, “When I was talking to him outside, I suddenly discovered something strange.”

The Big Boss asked, “What thing?”

Zhuyeqing said, “I discovered Iron Head’s third mistress was secretly watching behind a door inside. Also she was constantly looking at him, she was evidently nervous and concern.”

The Big Boss’s hands tightened. He asked, “Where did Iron Head find that woman?”

Zhuyeqing said, “That woman’s name is Jin Lanhua. She was a famous courtesan in the Huaiyang⁸⁷ region. Many famous people of Jianghu was once her behind the curtain screen guest.”

The Big Boss’s eyes lit up. He asked, “You think she’d met that Useless Ah Ji before?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Not only recognized, they must be extremely familiar with one another.”

The Big Boss asked, “So she must know about Ah Ji’s background?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Absolutely.”

The Big Boss’s eyes were fixated at him. He said, “Right now she presumably is not longer with Ah Ji?”

Zhuyeqing said, “No longer is!”

The Big Boss satisfactorily let out a breath. He asked, “Where is she?”

Zhuyeqing said, “Outside with the Miaozi brother and sister.”

The Big Boss’s eyes were even brighter. He said, “How did you find them?”

Zhuyeqing said, “I’d searched everywhere that they could hide and still couldn’t find them.”

The Big Boss’s eyes were glittering. He said, “So you started looking at places that couldn’t hide them?”

Zhuyeqing’s eyes were showing signs of admiration and respect. He said, “What I could think of obviously were already in the Big Boss’s mind.”

The Big Boss asked, “Where did you find them?”

Zhuyeqing said, “The two spies I sent out. One of them is Da Niu (Big Ox). Although very bright, he doesn’t have much courage. He is also a family man, more than half of his earning are given back to his family.”

The Big Boss said, “So you must’ve thought, Ah Ji must’ve used this point to blackmail him and hid Miaozi brother and sister in his home?”

Zhuyeqing said, “I only thought that two living adults like them definitely couldn’t disappeared into thin air!”

The Big Boss smiled and said, “This is a very clever hand Ah Ji played. Unfortunately he didn’t realize there is someone even smarter than him here!”

Zhuyeqing’s attitude became even more polite. He lowered his head and said, “That is only because I never dare to forget the lessons Big Boss taught me daily.”

The Big Boss laughed even more delightfully. He said, “Right now we need to find out Ah Ji’s background from Jin Lanhua’s mouth. Then use the Miaozi brother and sister as baits, it’ll be hard for him to not handover his neck.”

Zhuyeqing said, “I’m afraid that Jin Lanhua would not speak the truth.”

The Big Boss asked, “Is she not a prostitute?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Yes!”

The Big Boss asked, “Have you seen a loyal and sentimental prostitute?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Haven’t.”

The Big Boss asked, “Have you seen a prostitute who doesn’t want money and doesn’t want her life?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Haven’t.”

The Big Boss said, “Neither have I.”

The bed sheet was white as snow, and still had Jin Lanhua’s fragrance on it. Ah Ji teared up the bed sheet. He teared it into one strip at a time and used it to wrap up his wounds. He knew the Big Boss would never accept his condition and also knew that tonight there would be a fierce battle.

He didn’t mind a bit but he couldn’t help think about Jin Lanhua.

— I will listen to you, even if I die I will never say it.

Although the tears she left on his face were already dried, her voice seemed as if it was still next to his ear. Could he trust those words? If a person was able to sell herself, then who would believe she would rather die than sell out another?

Ah Ji tightly tie a knot with the cloth wrap on his chest. His heart also had a knot, thousands and millions of knots. Knots that couldn’t be untied. Because he was not someone who had fallen from the sky, he has his own history. In those days in the past, he had sorrow, pain, joy, and obviously women.

He never trusted women before. In his view, woman was simply a type of decoration, a type of tool. When he needed them, they would jump onto his lap like a cat. When he was angry, he would throw them out like trash.

He never tried to conceal or felt remorseful about this point. It was because he always felt like he was born to be loved by woman. 
 If there were a woman who loved him, loved him to the point of death, and loved him to the point of wanting to die in his embrace; then he would think that woman was deservedly so.

Therefore if Jin Lanhua betrayed him now, he would think he deserved it. He did not mind a bit because he was prepared to stake his life.

One person, one life. It doesn’t matter what person or what life, as long as he was prepare to risk it, then what’s there anymore to be bother by?

— Was he really not bother by it?

— Did his heart have some kind of hidden pain he could not tell anyone?

— Was he inflicted with trauma he could never recover from?

Who knows?

Even he could barely remember it —

At least he wholeheartedly wished he would forget it himself. Who still knew?

* * *

The table had a string of pearls and a saber.

Next to the table there were three people: the Big Boss, Zhuyeqing, and Jin Lanhua.

The Big Boss had not spoken yet.

If it wasn’t necessary, he wouldn’t talk — If there were someone that would speak on his behalf, why would he talk? The first one to speak was obviously Zhuyeqing.

The way he spoke was always calm and gentle, “These are the very best pearls. A beautiful woman wearing them would definitely become prettier. Even a not so pretty woman wearing it would suddenly have a lot men thinking she’d became prettier.”

Jin Lanhua said, “I know.”

Zhuyeqing said, “You are a very beautiful woman but any woman would grew old one day!”

Jin Lanhua said, “I know.”

Zhuyeqing said, “No matter how beautiful a woman is, when she grew old she would no longer be beautiful.”

Jin Lanhua said, “I know.”

Zhuyeqing said, “Every woman needed a man, but until that point you would realize a pearl is far more valuable than a man.”

Jin Lanhua said, “I know.”

Zhuyeqing lightly touched the saber sheath. He said, “This is a saber that could kill people.”

Jin Lanhua said, “I know.”

Zhuyeqing said, “No matter how beautiful a woman is, if she is stabbed in the chest, neither the pearl or the man would be of any use for her.”

Jin Lanhua said, “I know.”

Zhuyeqing asked, “Do you like to be stab by a saber or do you like pearls?”

Jin Lanhua said, “Pearls.”

Zhuyeqing fixated his eyes on her. Then he slowly said, “Do you know what that Useless Ah Ji’s surname is? What’s his name? Where’s he from?”

Jin Lanhua said, “Don’t know.”

Zhuyeqing laughed. Right when he started to laugh, the saber was in his hand. With the flash of a saber, he swung it toward Jin Lanhua’s left ear.

The one saber swing was not a bluff, he knew only a bloody scene would instill fear in people.

Jin Lanhua curled up due to the fear. She saw her own blood and also saw the half of ear that had fallen off with fresh blood.

However, she did not feel any pain, this type of fear allowed her to not even feel the pain.

Zhuyeqing’s face did not have any expression. “Ear missing half could still be covered by your hair but nose missing half would be very ugly.”

Jin Lanhua suddenly yelled, “Fine, I’ll speak.”

Zhuyeqing smiled and put his saber down. He said, “As long as you are willing to say it, this pearl is still yours!”

Jin Lanhua said, “Actually I don’t need to say it, you all should know who he is!”

Zhuyeqing said, “Oh?”

Jin Lanhua said, “He’s the yanwang (Yama, King of Hell) here to claim your lives!”

Before finishing saying this, she rushed toward the table, grabbed his saber with her hand, and pierced it into her chest.

The Big Boss expression changed. He grabbed her hair and sternly yelled, “You are only a wh0re, why are you dying for a man?”

Jin Lanhua’s face became pale white. The corner of her mouth started to have blood seeping out. She could still speak out what was in her heart. “Because he is a real man, you are all a gang of bastards that could not even be considered pigs or dogs. I can die for him, I…I am already very happy.”


[End of Chapter 15]

---

Footnote
86. Ye Qingzhu (叶青竹), surname Ye means leaf, given name means “green bamboo”. So it’s the same…the other name literally means “bamboo leaf green” vs “leaf green bamboo”, actual name.
87. Huaiyang (淮阳), a county in Henan.

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Notes

About the chapter title, previously it was translated to “The things in life are not normal”, based on the Chinese character this is technically not wrong. However the title sounds like “things in life are strange”, which is not what the title is saying. The title is saying you should NOT expect things in life to happen in a normal consistent way. I tweaked it slightly.

- When ZYQ was talking about Pai Gow, he said 50 years not 55 years.
- When BB praised ZYQ for being more clever than AJ after finding out he found the Miaozi. A line was missing afterward.
- When AJ saw 3 people next to the table, line before it mentioning what’s on the table was missing.
- Line missing after ZYQ told JLH woman’ll grow old.

Originally translated by kara on 1/12/14. Revised by kaister.

Chapter 16
Not Even Fit to be Pig or Dog


The room had no noise, not even a little bit. It was not known after how long till the Big Boss suddenly asked, “The appointment you arranged with him is tonight?”

Zhuyeqing said, “Yes.”

The Big Boss said, “Then right now you should quickly prepare and set up this entire place.”

Zhuyeqing asked, “Is the Big Boss really preparing to go?”

The Big Boss nodded. He said, “I wanted to meet him!”

He helped himself explained, “Because I would never imagine there is this type of man in the world, capable of making a prostitute willing to sacrifice for him. I wanted to see what’s special about him.”

Zhuyeqing kept his mouth shut. He knew no one could change the Big Boss’s decision.

The Big Boss still asked him, “What do you think?”

Zhuyeqing did not answer straight away.

This was a very important matter, which did not allow for a single mistake or mishap. He had to think about this carefully and in great detail.

The Big Boss again asked, “You think I’ll be in danger?”

Zhuyeqing was pondering and slowly said, “Since the Miaozi brother and sister are still in our hands, I don’t think he will act rashly.”

The Big Boss said, “I’d already thought of this point.”

Zhuyeqing said, “But if a person could make a prostitute die for him, it’s possible he’s capable of doing anything!”

The Big Boss asked, “For example what?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Some people might normally speak of loyalty and righteousness in front of their friends, but in critical time would not hesitate to sacrifice his friends!”

The Big Boss asked, “What is considered ‘critical time’?”

Zhuyeqing said, “When he is determine to cause a major event!”

The Big Boss did not ask any further.

He obviously understood Zhuyeqing’s point. No matter who killed him, it would be major event that would cause a sensation in Jianghu.

Zhuyeqing said, “Before nightfall, I could gather all the highly skilled fighters at Madame Han’s place. The fighters we can use is at least thirty-something in total.”

The Big Boss asked, “Is it still not enough with them protecting me?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Maybe enough and maybe not enough. As long as there’s still a chance of danger, I don’t dare to do this!”

The Big Boss said, “With them protecting me in front of me, I can at least retreat safely!”

Zhuyeqing said, “But his target is only the Big Boss. If we had just a single neglect, he would make his move. Once he attacks, it’s possible no one could stop this!”

He softly said, “If Iron Tiger was here, the situation would obviously be entirely different.”

The Big Boss asked, “Are you saying I shouldn’t go?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “The Big Boss must see him. Of course you can go, but…”

The Big Boss said, “What?”

Zhuyeqing said, “We don’t need to let him ‘see’ the Big Boss.”

He did not explain any further. He knew the Big Boss would immediately understand what he meant.

No matter who became a boss like the Big Boss, it was not because of luck. He must have ability or intelligence no one else could compare to.

The Big Boss did not disappoint him, “Because he had never seen me before, we could find anyone to impersonate me and meet him. If I disguised myself as part of the entourage following behind, I can still see him.”

Zhuyeqing said, “If he really did attack, the one that’ll clash would be the person in the front. The Big Boss would definitely be able to retreat safely.”

The Big Boss smiled and said, “Good. Good idea.”

Someone outside the door suddenly said, “Not good. Not even a bit good.”

* * *

This was the Big Boss’s study room, the place where he and his high-level advisors discussed secretive matters. Without the Big Boss’s permission, no one even dare to get close to the outside of the door.

Yet this person was outside the door.

No one ever dared to go against the Big Boss’s intention. If the Big Boss said “good” then it was definitely good. No one ever dare to argue.

Yet this person was an exception.

In front of the Big Boss, only this person dare to do what other doesn't dare, and dare to say what other doesn’t dare to refute.

Because what he was capable of doing for the Big Boss, no one else was capable of.

Hearing his voice, the Big Boss already showed an expression of delight, “Iron Tiger came back!”

* * *

A big bowl of piping hot beef noodle soup was just carried over. The soup used original stock and there were four eggs and two spare ribs. It seemed like it must taste very good. But wonder what Ah Ji’s heart taste (i.e. feel) like?⁸⁸

It had been quite a while since Ah Ji had been able to eat something this delicious. For him, this was already a type of luxurious treat.

He really wanted to enjoy this with his friends. He really wanted to go to Da Niu’s house and visit Miaozi and Wa Wa but he didn’t want to take that risk.

When leaving Iron Head’s residence, the table was still stacked full of money. He only took a small stack of money.

He needed to eat something that would restore his strength. He must force himself to eat.

* * *

This was a very small noodle shop; it was cramp and dim. Ah Ji was sitting at the darkest corner. With his head low, he slowly ate the noodle.

He didn’t want to look at anyone and didn’t want anyone to look at him. He only wanted quietly and peacefully finish this bowl of noodle. However, he did not finish it.

Just when he was about to eat the second egg, a layer of dust suddenly fell from the ceiling made from old wooden planks. It fell into his bowl of noodle.

Followed by a “gezi” noise, the ceiling split open with a large hole. A person descended down as light as a feather and hid behind him. With a low voice, he said, “Don’t move and don’t open your mouth, otherwise I’ll take your life!”

Ah Ji did not move and did not open his mouth.

The noodle shop’s only waiter was so scared his legs were getting weak, because he already saw the snow bright saber in his hand.

And also saw this person’s wild animal like eyes.

A wild animal that was cornered by a hunter, its eyes were full of fear and killing aura.

“You sit down, slowly sit down!”

This person ordered the waiter in the noodle shop, “Act like you didn’t see anything.”

The waiter immediately sat down on his old worn chair; his entire person was weak.

This person also ordered Ah Ji, “Continue eating your noodle, you have to finish it!”

Ah Ji continued eating his noodle.

If he could eat mantou that was dropped into manure, he obviously wouldn’t care about the dust in his bowl of noodle.

He could felt the nervousness and fear from the person behind him, yet did not understand what this person was so afraid of?

He also did not want to know. However at this time, he saw a huge and tall man with his head held high walking into the store.

Seeing this person, most of the people on the street bowed their waist and lowered their head.

The person behind Ah Ji, his breathing started to intensify. His whole body seemed to be trembling.

— He was definitely afraid of this huge man?

— Who exactly is this huge man?

— What make people so afraid of him?

When Ah Ji lowered his head, it seemed he caught a glimpse of the huge man looking into the noodle shop. His eyes were like strong electricity.

Fortunately he only caught a glimpse, and then the huge man took a large steps and walked by.

It was then when he saw a rope tied to the back of his waistband. The rope had six people tied to it.

Seeing these people being tied and pulled past by like dogs by the huge man, the person behind Ah Ji finally took a sigh. The hand that was gripping onto the saber loosened up.

Ah Ji suddenly asked, “Those people are your friends?”

This person scolded with a low voice, “Shut up!”

Ah Ji did not shut up. He continued, “Since you can escaped, why didn’t you save them?”

Before finishing these words, the saber was rested behind his neck. “If you keep on talking, I would need to kill you!”

Before he finished these words, there was already a voice coldly saying, “If you don’t open your mouth, I would still take your life!”

* * *

The huge man that clearly walked past the noodle shop at first, suddenly came back. He was suddenly in front of Ah Ji.

His pair of eyes was flashing like bolt of lightning. His face had high cheekbone, eagle nose, and wide mouth.

Ah Ji lowered his head and continued eating noodle.

The person hidden behind him lifted the saber next to his neck. “Once you move, I will kill this person first!”

The huge man said, “You kill him, I’ll not kill you!”

His tone was serious and cold. “I will at least let you live for three years and suffer three more years of pain.”

Ah Ji was still eating with his head low.

The person hidden behind him already jumped up. He swung his saber down directly onto the top of the huge man’s head.

The huge man did not move and his head did not move. He simply reach his hand out and grabbed onto this person’s wrist

With a “ge” sound, he broke this person’s wrist. With a “dong” sound, the saber fell to the ground and the person knelt on the ground.

The huge man coldly stared at him and said, “Are you coming or not?”

The person was in so much pain he didn’t even cry out. He continuously nodded and said, “I’ll come!”

The huge man coldly laughed and pulled him out. He suddenly turned back and fixed his eyes onto Ah Ji.

Ah Ji was still eating noodle.

The huge man coldly smiled and said, “You sure can hold it in!”

Ah Ji did not lift his head. He said, “I’m extremely hungry, I only wanted to eat noodle!”

The huge man glared at him for a while. He suddenly turned his head and told the noodle shop waiter, “I’ll pay for that bowl of noodle!”

The waiter said, “Yes.”

Ah Ji said, “Thank you.”

The huge man said, “No need.”

* * *

The rope had one more person. Seven people connected by a rope and were pulled away by the huge man like dogs.

Ah Ji finally finished his noodle. He was determined to finish this bowl of noodle so he must finish eating. It didn’t matter if the bowl had dust, blood, or tears.

Suddenly he finally got up and walked in front of the waiter. He asked, “Who is that person?”

The still hadn’t calm down from the state of panic. With trembling voice, he asked, “Which person?”

Ah Ji replied, “That person who treated me to noodle at first.”

The waiter looked around him and finally with a low voice replied, “He’s a person you can’t provoke!”

Ah Ji asked, “What’s his name?”

The waiter said, “Iron Tiger. The Iron Tiger is not only harder than iron, he’s more ferocious than a tiger!”

Ah Ji laughed. His laughter was a bit derisive. “Being to able to pull seven wolf pack like people away most certainly is more ferocious than a tiger!”

The waiter’s voice dropped even lower. He quietly asked, “You know him?”

Ah Ji replied, “Don’t know him!”

His laughed even stranger. He slowly continued, “But we will soon be able to get to know each other.”


* * *

“Iron Tiger came back.”

Right now he was standing in front of the Big Boss. Although he did not bend his waist that low, his expression carried a sense of pride and respect that any one could see. The pride was that he again completed a task ordered by the person he respected.

The Big Boss said, “You came back earlier than we expected!”

Iron Tiger said, “Because that pack of wolves were not wolves, they’re dogs.”

The Big Boss smiled, “In front of you, even if they were wolves they’ll become dogs.”

* * *

Iron Tiger also smiled.

He was not a humble person. He loved hearing other praise him, especially the Big Boss.

The Big Boss asked, “Where is that pack of dogs now?”

Iron Tiger said, “Six dead dogs were fed to the wolves, I brought seven live dogs back.”

The Big Boss asked, “Not even one escaped?”

Iron Tiger said, “Midway, one almost escaped, I couldn't imagine he still had a saber hidden in his pant.”

The Big Boss asked, “Where is that saber now?”

Iron Tiger said, “Right now, up his ***.”

The Big Boss laughed heartily.

He loved they way Iron Tiger did things.

The things Iron Tiger did were always the most direct, simple, and effective.

Iron Tiger suddenly asked, “At first, who is the person Big Boss is planning to meet?”

The Big Boss replied, “His name is Ah Ji!”

Iron Tiger asked, “Ah Ji?”

The Big Boss replied, “I know you mustn’t have heard of this person’s name, because he did not have a name. Beside, he kept on saying he is a useless person.”

Iron Tiger asked, “Actually he’s very useful?”

The Big Boss replied, “Not only useful, he must be very famous. It only that sometimes the greater you name is, the more you don’t want people to say it.”

Iron Tiger understood this.

He was also like this. He had already concealed his true name for many years.

The Big Boss said, “We originally arranged to meet up tonight, but Little Ye (Leaf) is afraid that something will happen to me!”

Iron Tiger coldly laughed and said, “Little Leaf’s guts are even smaller than a leaf.”

The Big Boss said, “You can’t blame him. A person who’s cautious about things is not a bad thing.”

Zhuyeqing had been listening and laughed along. Until Iron Tiger no longer spoke, he finally said, “This time I had to be cautious because Big Brother Tiger did not come back yet.”

Iron Tiger asked, “How about now?”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Now, of course, it’s different.”

He was laughing. His laugh did not make other people feel comfortable. “Right now, if the Big Boss wanted to see someone, once Big Brother Tiger makes his move he’ll bring that person to you!”

Iron Tiger glared at him, “You think I can’t do it?”

Both of Iron Tiger’s fists tightened.

The Big Boss suddenly said, “You’re tired!”

He said to Zhuyeqing, “Since right now Iron Tiger came back, why don’t you go back and rest for four hours!”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Yes!”

The Big Boss said, “If your bed has someone waiting for you to sleep. Don’t be alarm and don’t be polite!”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Yes!”

The Big Boss said, “It doesn’t matter who that person is!”

Zhuyeqing replied, “Yes!”

He immediately pardoned himself. He did not ask who this person was and did not asked for anything else. He always followed the Big Boss’s words and never questioned it.

* * *

Until Zhuyeqing left the door, Iron Tiger was still staring at him. Green veins were showing on his tightened fist, corner of the eyes were twitching.

When most people saw the corners of his eyes twitched, they would leave immediately. However far they could leave, they would go that far.

The Big Boss was staring at the corner of his eyes twitching. He suddenly asked, “How long had you followed me?”

Iron Tiger said, “Five years.”

The Big Boss said, “Not five years. It’s four years, nine months, and twenty-four days.”

Iron Tiger’s eyes no longer twitched. His eyes were immediately filled with admiration and respect. He couldn’t believe the Big Boss would remember such a small matter in such details. People would this level of memory often impress a lot of people.

The Big Boss asked again, “Do you know how long Little Leaf had followed me for?”

Iron Tiger replied, “He’s longer than me!”

The Big Boss said, “He had been with me for six years; six years, three months, and thirteen days.”

Iron Tiger did not dare to open his mouth.

The Big Boss said, “You following me had already cost me four hundred and seventy thousands and changed seventy-nine different women. How about him?”

Iron Tiger did not know.

The Big Boss said, “I’d already instructed the accounting room. The two of you, no matter how much, I would give out. However, in these six year, he spent a total of three taels.”

Iron Tiger was holding back, finally couldn’t hold it and said, “Some people like to spent, some doesn’t.”

The Big Boss said, “He did not have any woman either.”

Iron Tiger held back for a while. He couldn’t help and said, “That might be because he is not a man?”

The Big Boss said, “However the things he did for me, are not fewer than yours.”

Iron Tiger was not willing to admit it but did not dare to refute it.

The Big Boss said, “The type of work he helped me do was not something that’ll bring honor to his family. Since it was not for money or women, then tell me what is it for?”

Iron Tiger dare to open his mouth even less.

The Big Boss said, “In this world, besides fame and women, what can still make a man’s heart move?”

Iron Tiger knew, but did not dare to say it.

The Big Boss answered it himself, “Power!”


[End of Chapter 16]

---

Footnote
88. ziwei (滋味), means either taste/flavor/or feeling. It’s used in the former two sentences.

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Editor's Notes

• A lot of word choices are changed.
• When AJ asked the waiter who the person that treated him, the waiter’s response was “a person you don’t want to mess with” NOT “a person you can’t borrow money off”.
• Previous translation uses “Ho Sat” but I changed it to “Iron Tiger”.
• When BB asked Tiger how long ZYQ followed him, his response was “longer than me” NOT “not as long as me”.
• Somehow, the translation no longer line up with the Chinese source staring from Chapter 14.