by Jin Yong
He stepped in and relit the candle, saying, “Come in.” Mu Nianci bowed her head and entered, sitting on a chair silently but with a thudding heartbeat. Wanyan Kang saw that she was blushing profusely and said soothingly, “Why are you here to find me at this time?” She did not reply. He thought of his parents’ deaths and said softly, “Since your father is dead, you can stay with me and I will regard you as my sister.”
Mu Nianci replied, “He was my foster father.” Wanyan Kang was surprised and thought, “She’s telling me we’re not related by blood.” He took her hand in his and smiled. Mu Nianci’s face reddened even more and her head bowed lower. Wanyan Kang’s heart was on fire and he hugged her, whispering into her ear, “This is the third time I’ve hugged you. The first was during our sparring match, the second was just outside and now there’s no one else around.”
Mu Nianci said “Mmm” and felt an extremely sweet flush inside, which was happening for the first time in her life. Wanyan Kang smelled her fragrance, felt her slender body and decided that it was so surreal. After a while he asked, “How did you find me?” Mu Nianci said, “I’ve been following you. Every night I stare at your shadow but I didn’t dare.” Wanyan Kang realized that her feelings were deep and was very touched, so he kissed her forehead. In the heat of passion he hugged her tightly and kissed her for a long time.
Mu Nianci whispered, “I’m an orphan. Don’t abandon me.” Wanyan Kang embraced her and stroked her hair, saying, “Don’t worry! You’ll always be mine and I’ll always be yours, OK?” Mu Nianci felt great joy in her heart and looked into Wanyan Kang’s eyes, and nodded. Wanyan Kang saw that she was blushing profusely and did not care anymore; he blew out the candle flame and carried her to the bed and tried to undress her.
Mu Nianci was somewhat intoxicated by his affection, but when he touched her, she hastily pushed him away and said, “No, we can’t do this.” Wanyan Kang hugged her and said, “I will definitely marry you. If my heart changes I shall die a horrible death.” She placed her hand over his mouth and said, “I believe you.” He then said, “Then allow me.” She pleaded, “No. no.” Wanyan Kang was really aroused and tried to undo her clothes. She struck out with half her maximum force. Wanyan Kang did not expect her to use her martial arts at this moment and he was shoved away. Mu Nianci jumped from the bed, snatched the spearhead and pointed it towards herself, saying, “If you force me I shall die in front of you.”
Wanyan Kang’s passion immediately turned to ice and he said, “Alright, let’s talk about this, don’t do that.” Mu Nianci said, “Though I’m a poor girl who wanders through Jianghu, I have my dignity and self-respect. If you truly love me, please respect me. I have no other wish in life but to be with you. In future. in future if I marry you I’d of course. obey you. But today if you try to violate me, I’d rather die.” Though she said this softly, she never hesitated. He silently admired and respected her, saying, “Don’t be angry, it’s my fault.”
He got off the bed and relit the candle. Mu Nianci heard that he knew his mistake and said, “I’ll wait for you at my foster father’s home in Ox Village. You can send. the matchmaker anytime.” She paused and said, “If you never show up, I’ll just wait for my whole life.” Wanyan Kang was really touched and quickly said, “Don’t worry, when my official business is complete, I’ll come immediately. In this life I shall never change my mind.”
Mu Nianci smiled shyly and turned to leave. Wanyan Kang shouted, “Don’t leave.. .let’s chat for a while more.” Mu Nianci waved and left. Wanyan Kang stood there and stared at her departing shadow and felt like it was but a dream. She did leave a few strands of hair behind from their struggle and those he placed in his pouch. When he first sparred with her, he did not think much about it, but he did not expect her to follow him here and stare at his shadow every night. Yet she strongly cherished her chastity, deeply earning his respect. He smiled and sighed.
End of Chapter 12.
Chapter 13 - The Crippled Person of Five Lake
Translated by SunnySnow
As the Lake Tai pirates and the Jin officials’ boats came closer, there were sounds of yelling, scolding, clashing of weapons and the sounds of splashing as bodies dropped into the water. After a while, the Jin officials' boats were on fire which lit up the dark sky and cast a fiery red glow over the lake.
When Huang Rong returned to the inn for the night, she thought in her heart how she had done a good deed and was extremely delighted. Following that, she fell into a sweet sleep, and told Guo Jing all about it when she awoke the next morning. Guo Jing had actually spent a lot of effort on this matter. The last time, he got into a messy situation and had to fight for his life with Wanyan Kang and he was also nearly forced to marry Mu Nianci. When he heard that Mu Nianci and Yang Kang were in love, he secretly felt relieved and happy, especially since Qiu Chuji and the Six Freaks of Jiangnan would not be able to force him to marry Mu Nianci anymore. He ate and chatted with Huang Rong and after some time, Mu Nianci still had not come back.
Huang Rong smiled and said, “We don’t have to wait for her, let’s just go.” Following that, she went back into her room and put on a male disguise. Both of them went to the market and bought a donkey and rode to the Jiang residence. When they saw the lantern, which read ‘The Jin Ambassador’ at the door smashed, they thought that Wanyan Kang must have left and Mu Nianci must have followed him.
Guo Jing and Huang Rong decided to tour the countryside and rowed a boat to the south along the Grand Canal [Da Yunhe]. That day they visited the famous Yixing city, which specialized in pottery making and was renowned as the pottery capital [tao du]. The rows of ceramic creations [zisha pottery] made with purple sand and clay lay amongst the green hills and blue waters which created a beautiful sight. They traveled towards the east and not long after, came upon a huge lake [Lake Tai]. Since the lake was situated between three cities and it took about five hundred li [1li=500m / 1/3mile] to reach the east or south side, the lake was named Five Lake. Guo Jing had never seen such a huge body of water before and pulled Huang Rong to the lakeside. They saw the sky far away from them, a huge, never-ending space in front, with the lake in the middle and couldn’t help but yell happily.
Huang Rong said, “Let’s go and play on the lake.” They found a fishing village near the lake, borrowed a small boat and left the donkey with the owner before rowing out into the waters. After rowing some distance away from the shore, the space between all four corners of the lake seemed so empty and huge that it seemed like heaven to them.
Huang Rong’s robes and hair floated gently in the wind and she smiled, “Long ago, Advisor Fan escorted Xi Shi across the Five Lake.. .what a clever man. His court position is nothing compared to the peaceful life here.”
Guo Jing didn’t know anything about Advisor Fan’s story and asked, “Rong’er, how about you tell me the story.”
Huang Rong began to tell of how Fan Li helped the King of Yue avenge the Yue kingdom and how he successfully retreated with Xi Shi to a peaceful life on Lake Tai. She continued on about how Wu Zixu and Wen Zhong were killed by the King of Wu and the King of Yue respectively.
[Historical background: Xi Shi is one of the legendary Four Beauties of China. The others are Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan and Yang Guifei (Note that Guifei is a title for the emperor's consort). ** This occurred during the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BC), before China was united as one empire. At that time, many small states existed. It is against this backdrop that this story took place.]
As the story goes, the King of Yue had once been a prisoner of the King of Wu. He was obsessed about revenge for his humiliation. Fan Li, a minister of the Yue kingdom, came up with a scheme whereby Xi Shi was sent as a gift to the King of Wu. The King of Wu was so enamored by her beauty that he neglected his state, spending all his time with her. Wu Zixu was his best general, but was killed by him.. Eventually, the weakened Wu state was defeated by Yue. Wen Zhong was a minister of Yue. It was he who ruled Yue while its king was a prison
er. After the defeat of Wu, he was killed by the King of Yue. As for Xi Shi, some legends hold that she disappeared with Fan Li (like what Huang Rong said). Others say she was killed by the King of Yue because he was afraid of succumbing to her beauty like the King of Wu.]
Guo Jing was in a daze after listening to the story and after a while, he recovered and said, “Fan Li was clever, but Wu Zixu and Wen Zhong are admirable too, for dying for their country.”
Huang Rong gave a little laugh, “Absolutely. As the saying goes, if a country is virtuous and one does not change, he is the strongest. If a country is corrupted, and one still does not change, he remains the strongest.”
Guo Jing asked, “What does this mean?”
Huang Rong replied, “If a country is virtuous, even though one rises to be a powerful official, one would still be as alert and cautious as before. When the country becomes weak one day and you are still willing to die for your country, then you are the real hero.”
Guo Jing nodded his head and said, “Rong’er, how clever of you to think of this!”
Huang Rong laughed, “Ai ya! If I could think of this, I would be a sage. These are Confucius sayings which my father taught me when I was young.”
Guo Jing sighed, “There are so many matters I can never understand. If I had read more books and learned more sayings, I would have understood more.”
Huang Rong said, “That may not always be the case. My father always tells me that a lot of sayings by sages and scholars are nothing but rubbish. I often see my father reading and saying out loud ‘No, No what nonsense, this is atrocious!’ Sometimes, he would also say ‘What sage! It’s a pack of rubbish!” Guo Jing laughed out loud hearing how Huang Rong described her father.
Huang Rong continued, “I somehow regret spending so much time studying and practicing art and calligraphy. If I hadn’t pestered my father to teach me such stuff as well as all sorts of other things such as the interesting ways of calculations, I would have devoted more time to practicing my martial skills and we wouldn’t have to be afraid of people like Mei Chaofeng and the old Liang creature! But don’t worry Jing ge ge, you’ve learned Qigong’s ‘Eighteen, but short three, Dragon-Subduing Palms’ and thus you don’t have to fear that old Liang creature anymore.”
Guo Jing shook his head and said, “I don’t think that’s possible.”
Huang Rong laughed and said, “It’s a pity Qigong left. If he hadn’t, I would have confiscated and hidden his dog beating stick and forced him to teach you the remaining three stances before returning it to him.”
Guo Jing hurriedly said, “No, no. I’m more than satisfied to be able to learn the fifteen stances. How can we make trouble for Senior Qigong?”
Both started chatting and stopped rowing, allowing the wind to move the boat freely. Without realizing it, they were already miles away from the shore. They saw a fisherman fishing lazily from a boat not far away and there was a servant at the bow of the boat.
Huang Rong pointed and said, “As the mist clears, one can see the shape of a straight bamboo rod. It’s just like a painting of water inked scenery.”
Guo Jing asked, “What’s water inked scenery?”
Huang Rong answered, “That’s paintings which use only black ink and no other colors.”
Guo Jing saw the green hills, blue waters, white clouds and orange sun but could not find anything black in color. He shook his head, not understanding Huang Rong’s words. Huang Rong chatted more with Guo Jing. Later she turned around and saw that the fisherman was still sitting straight in the boat and his rod had not moved an inch. Huang Rong laughed, “This person does have a lot of patience.”
A gust of wind blew over them and little waves of water sloshed gently against the boat. Huang Rong swung her arms about and started singing a song entitled ‘The Water Dragon’s Hum’ which tells about life on the lake. She finished singing the first part of the song before resting a little. Guo Jing noticed tears in her eyes and was just about to ask her the meaning of the song when suddenly, they heard a melancholy voice singing the exact same song Huang Rong was singing earlier, except that it was the second part. When they looked around, it seemed as though the fisherman was the one singing the song. His voice sounded somewhat forceful yet gentle. Guo Jing did not understand what both of them were singing about but thought that it sounded very nice. However, when Huang Rong heard the song, she looked stunned.
Guo Jing asked, “What’s the matter?”
Huang Rong answered, “My father often sings this song, I didn’t expect a common fisherman to know it too. Let’s check it out.” Both of them rowed the boat over only to see the fisherman holding his fishing rod and rowing his boat forward. When both boats neared each other, the fisherman asked, “To think I was fortunate enough to meet such special guests, can I invite you in for a drink?”
Huang Rong thought his speech sounded composed and refined. She was secretly curious, and answered, “We do not wish to bother the senior.”
The fisherman laughed, “It’s not easy to meet such special guests, but since we meet by chance on the lake, we should treasure it. Please come over.”
The two boats moved even closer. Huang Rong and Guo Jing rowed the boat along side the other boat and climbed in to greet the fisherman. The fisherman greeted them while staying seated and said, “Please be seated. I am crippled so can’t stand up, I apologize for any inconvenience.”
Guo Jing and Huang Rong said, “It’s alright.”
Both of them sat down and observed the fisherman. He looked about forty years of age, had a rather thin face and looked as if he were ill. He was very tall and even though seated, he was still half a head taller than Guo Jing. The servant at the back of the boat began warming up some wine.
Huang Rong said, “My older brother’s surname is Guo, whereas junior is surnamed Huang. I was excited for a moment and started singing in the middle of the lake. I haven’t offended the senior have I?”
The fisherman laughed, “I am fortunate to be able to listen to such a clear voice. My surname is Lu. Little brother, is it your first time touring this lake?”
Guo Jing answered, “Yes.”
The fisherman ordered the servant to bring out some dishes and wine for the guests. Although the four dishes were nothing compared to Huang Rong’s cooking, they tasted good too and the wine cups and dish plates looked quite unique, and no doubt belonged to some precious collection.
The three of them started drinking. The fisherman said, “Just now I heard little brother singing the song ‘The Water Dragon’s Hum’ which has such perfect lyrics. It is such a surprise that little brother, though so young in age, is still able to comprehend the deep meanings of the words.”
When Huang Rong heard his admiring words, she gave a little smile and said, “Ever since the Song moved south, song writers often write sad songs for the country.”
The fisherman nodded in agreement. Huang Rong continued, “The song ‘The Six Cities’ by Zhang Yuhu has the same meaning.”
The fisherman started singing the lyrics, “When people pass by, one would cry tears of loyalty and anger.” He drank up three cups of wine and engaged in conversation with Huang Rong. Actually Huang Rong is just a young girl and had not experienced any real sorrows caused by ‘one’s country’. She did not really identify with the deep meaning of the lyrics. It was just that she’d listened to her father explain the meanings before and thus used her father’s explanation which was a very refined and sophisticated one. This awed the fisherman, who could not help but praise Huang Rong. Guo Jing listened from one corner and did not understand a single word, but he was delighted hearing the fisherman praise Huang Rong. After chatting awhile, he saw that the landscape had paled and the mist surrounding the lake had thickened.
The fisherman said, “My residence is close by the lake, if you don’t mind, I would like to invite both of you there for more discussions.”
Huang Rong asked, “How about it, Jing ge ge?”
Guo Jing had
n’t had a chance to answer before the fisherman said, “My house is built against the backdrop of beautiful hills. Since both of you are touring the countryside, why not stop by for a visit?”
Guo Jing felt that he seemed honest and earnest and thus answered, “Rong’er, we’ll have to impose on Mr. Lu.” The fisherman was delighted and implored the servant to row the boat back home.
When they reached the lakeshore, Guo Jing said, “We will have to return the boat first and collect the donkey and my horse.”
The fisherman smiled and said, “I’m acquainted with everyone in the area. You can let him handle the matter.” With that, he gestured to the servant.
Guo Jing said, “My horse is bad tempered; I’d better handle it.”
The fisherman said, “If you insist; I’ll wait for your arrival at my residence then.” With that, the boat rowed off and disappeared into the distance.
The servant followed Guo Jing and Huang Rong to get the things done. He got a larger boat from one of the villagers, which had enough space to hold the donkey and horse. Six hardy boatmen rowed the boat for some distance before the front of an island came into view. They stopped the boat at the jetty, which was made of green stone. When they arrived on shore, they saw a cluster of small houses, which formed a huge manor. They crossed a large stone bridge and arrived in front of the manor. Guo Jing and Huang Rong looked at each other, since they didn’t expect a fisherman to live in such a luxurious place. Before they could reach the main entrance, they saw a man who looked about twenty years of age coming up to them. About six servants followed behind him. The youth said, “My father sent me to receive his guests.”
