by Jin Yong
Xie Xun sighed, "You did your utmost to save Wuji; that was really good,” he said, "But why did you risk your own life? Why risked your life?”
Zhao Min started to say, "He ... he ...” but then she stopped, as if she was mulling over whether she should continue or not. Finally she could not refrain from sobbing; she said, "He ... Who told him to show such affection? ... Hugging ... Hugging Miss Yin. I don’t want to live!” Finished speaking, her tears were already rolling down like rain.
Hearing her publicly revealing her deepest feelings unexpectedly, four people were startled; they did not remember Zhao Min was a Mongolian girl who loves when she wants to love, and who hates when she wants to hate. Certainly she was not wishy-washy; unlike the Central Earth’s women who were strongly influenced by Confucianism’s custom and regulations. Besides, they were all on a small boat in the middle of the ocean, the heavy rain drenched their heads, their small boat could capsize anytime and they would all perish. At the time when they hovered between life and death, it was even more unnecessary to be scrupulous.
Listening to Zhao Min, Zhang Wuji could not help but feel touched. "Miss Zhao is originally my archenemy,” he thought, "This time my primary intention was to see Yifu when we were going out to the sea together. Who would have thought that she would have these deep feelings toward me?” Unable to restrain his emotions, he reached out to hold her hand, put his lips next to her ear and whispered softly, "No matter what, next time you can’t do it again.”
As Zhao Min blurted out her feelings, she had almost immediately had already regretted it; thinking that if a girl from an honorable family did not stop this kind of talk from coming out, how could he not look down on her? Suddenly hearing him admonish her lovingly, she was surprised and happy, bashful and loving at the same time. She felt an unspeakable sweetness in her heart and felt that last night’s risking her life three times, and the suffering of drifting on the ocean today, everything, were not in vain.
The heavy rain started to subside and gradually stopped, but the fog was coming back and actually getting thicker and thicker. Suddenly a swishing noise was heard as a large fish, more than 30 catties, leaped up from the sea. Xie Xun’s right hand stretched out and stabbed his five fingers into the fish’s belly, taking the fish into the boat. Everybody cheered. Xiao Zhao took out her sword to cut open its belly and scrape the scales; and then cut it to pieces. They were all hungry, so although the raw fish was smelly, they forced themselves to eat a few slices. Xie Xun ate eagerly; he had lived on a desolated island for more than twenty years, and had survived on all kinds of food, how could he care about eating raw fish? Besides, the fish was fresh; after chewing for some times and being used to the fresh fish smell, the meat brought out its raw sweet flavor.
The waves gradually subsided. After eating, they all closed their eyes to get some rest. They had been fighting violently for the whole day and whole night the previous day, they were not only physically, but emotionally exhausted as well. Although Zhou Zhiruo and Xiao Zhao were not engaged in battle physically, the excitement and frights they experienced were not small. The ocean gently rocked the small boat like a cradle; the six people on the boat fell asleep one after another.
They were sound asleep for almost six hours. As an old man, Xie Xun was the first one to wake up. He heard the sound of five young people breathing blended with the sound of the wave and the wind. Since Zhao Min and Yin Li were injured, their breathings were short and quick. Zhou Zhiruo’s breathing was light and long. Zhang Wuji’s inhales and exhales sounded like they were broken yet continuous, without any distinct separation. Xie Xun was secretly astonished, "This child internal energy is very profound,” he thought, "I won’t be able to achieve this level in all my life.”
Xiao Zhao’s breathing was sometimes fast, sometimes slow, a sign of a very special school’s internal energy cultivation method. Xie Xun frowned as he remembered something, "This is strange,” he mused, "Could it be that this child is ...”
Suddenly his thought was interrupted by Yin Li’s loud shout, "Zhang Wuji, you little kid, why don’t you come with me to Ling She Island?”
Zhang Wuji, Zhao Min, Zhou Zhiruo and Xiao Zhao were awakened by her shout. She said again,
"I live alone on the Island, and quite lonely ... why are you not willing to come and accompany me? I miss you so much, you ... you are in the afterworld, do you know that?”
Zhang Wuji put his hand on her forehead and felt it was burning hot; he knew her severe wound had caused her a fever, making her sprouting nonsense. Although his medical skill was exquisite, there was nothing on the small boat, not even a blade of grass, so he was helpless. He tore away a piece of his clothes and soaked it in the water, then pressed it on her forehead.
Yin Li continued to ramble; suddenly she shouted, "Father, you . don’t kill mother, don’t kill mother! I was the one who killed ‘Er Niang’ [second madame or second mother], you’d better kill me; it had nothing to do with mother . Mother is dead, mother is dead! I killed my mother! Boo hoo hoo .” She cried miserably.
"Zhu’Er, Zhu’Er, wake up,” Zhang Wuji said in a gentle voice, "Your father is not here, you don’t have to be afraid.”
"Father is not good, I am not afraid of him!” Yin Li indignantly said, "Why did he marry ‘Er Niang’, ‘San Niang’ [third madame or third mother]? Is not one wife enough for one man? Father, you have two hearts and three minds; delight in the new, discard the old. You’ve married someone yet marry another, hurting my mother really bad, hurting me really bad! You are not my Father, you are a heartless man, a greatly wicked man!”
Zhang Wuji was shocked and alarmed; his face turned blue and his lips white. Turned out he had just had a good dream; he dreamt that he married Zhao Min, and also married Zhou Zhiruo. Yin Li’s face had changed, she was beautiful; he also married her and Xiao Zhao. Whatever idea he did not dare to think during the day had manifested itself in a dream when he was sleeping. He felt that these four girls were all good, and he could not bear to part with any of them. Hence when he comforted Yin Li, his mind was still vaguely remembering the sweetness that the dream brings.
This time listening to Yin Li scolding her father, he recalled how in the past she had told him that because she could not accept her mother being cheated, she killed her father’s beloved concubine, so that his uncle, Yin Yewang wanted to kill his own daughter. This tragic incident had affected Yin Yewang greatly that to comfort his own feeling he took several more wives and concubines.
Zhang Wuji looked at Zhao Min, and could not help but look at Zhou Zhiruo as well, remembering his dream, he was deeply ashamed. He heard Yin Li mumbling in her sleep, but suddenly she implored urgently, "Wuji, please come with me, I am asking you. You’ve bitten the back of my hand really bad, but I don’t hate you the least bit. I will take care of you as long as I live, to be close to
you, to regard you as my master. Don’t hate me because my face is ugly; if you want it, I’d rather lose my martial art, I’ll discard the poison from the thousand spiders, so my face will come back to when you first saw me .”
She spoke these last few sentences with a very tender and gentle voice, totally different from the strong-willed and short-tempered, eccentric cousin Zhang Wuji had always known; that gentle and tender feeling also grew in his heart. He heard her continue, "Wuji, I went everywhere looking for you, I went to the end of the earth without hearing anything about you, and then in the western region I heard you have died, falling off a cliff; made me want to stop living. In the western region I met a guy named Zeng Ahniu; his martial art skill was very high, he was also very good to me; he wanted to take me as his wife.”
Zhao Min, Zhou Zhiruo and Xiao Zhao knew that Zhang Wuji often used the name Zeng Ahniu, they all turned their eyes to him. Zhang Wuji blushed profusely; he felt very awkward to be under these three girls attentive gaze. He really wished he could just jump into the sea and did not come back up until Yin Li regained her consciousness.
He heard Y
in Li mumbled and said, "That Ahniu Gege [big brother Ahniu] said to me, ‘Miss, with all my heart I sincerely desire to marry you. I only hope you will not regard me unworthy.’ He said, ‘From now on, I will cherish you with all my might, I will look after you. No matter how many people come to make things difficult for you, no matter how many fierce people come to bully you, I don’t care if I’ll have to lose my life, I will protect you. I want you to be happy, I want you to forget your past sufferings.’ Wuji, that Ahniu Gege’s character is a lot better than yours; his martial art skill is also stronger than that Emei Pai’s Miejue Shitai. But my heart belongs to you, this heartless and short-lived little rascal, hence I cannot come with him. You have died young then I will be your widow for the rest of my life. Wuji, tell me, isn’t Ah Li good to you? You ignored me in the past, don’t you regret it now?”
At first Zhang Wuji was very embarrassed when she repeated what he said to her, but the more he listened to her, the more his heart was touched. He could not control his tears from flowing down his cheeks.
By now the thick fog had already been dissipated, the crescent moon illuminated the boat. Yin Li was leaning on her side, so that her graceful figure was clearly seen. She softly said, "Wuji, in the afterworld, aren’t you lonely? Don’t you miss me? I am going with Popo to the northern sea’s Bing Huo Island to find your Yifu, and then I am going to the Wudang Mountain to offer sacrifice on your parents’ graves. Afterwards I am going to the snowy peak in the western region where you died and I’ll jump down to accompany you. But I must wait for Popo’s a hundred years [meaning: a lifetime, till she died]; I cannot accompany you yet, leaving her to suffer in this world alone. Popo treated me very well, if she did not save me, I would have been killed by Father early on. For your Yifu’s sake I have betrayed Popo; she must hate me very much, but I still have to be good to her. Wuji, don’t you think so?”
She talked as if she was discussing something face to face with Zhang Wuji. In her heart, Zhang Wuji had become a ghost from another world. The way she spoke soft and gentle words to the dead, plus the moonlight shining on the ocean, a quiet night, lone boat were all making those who were listening feel a sudden chill creep in their hearts.
Yin Li kept rambling to the east and to the west, which did not make any sense whatsoever; sometimes she called out in alarm, sometimes shouted in anger, each word was a manifestation of inexhaustible anxiety in her heart. She called out and shouted randomly like that for a while, finally her voice softened, and slowly she fell into a deep sleep.
The other five people on the boat were silent as they were busy with their own thoughts. The only audible noise was the sound of the waves gently striking the hull of their little boat. Under the gentle wind and the bright moon, they felt that the life’s miseries from tens of thousands days ago still exist today, and will be forever.
In between thoughts, they suddenly heard a very faint gentle singing float above the water, ‘In the end, this body will be difficult to escape from that day. Out of a hundred years span of life, those who reach seventy are already sparse. Years of misery pass like torrential flood of the river.’ [Translator’s note: I am not a poet, and this passage is very difficult to translate. I welcome any correction.] It was Yin Li who softly sang the song in her sleep.
Zhang Wuji’s heart turned cold; he remembered inside the secret passage of the Brightness Peak, when their exit was completely stopped by Cheng Kun that they were unable to get out, Xiao Zhao had also sung this tune. Almost without thinking he turned to look at Xiao Zhao. Under the moonlight he saw that Xiao Zhao was looking at him with a blank expression her face.
End of Chapter 29.
Chapter 30 - East and West Will Always Be Divided like Enemies
(Translated by Foxs, Edited by Eliza Bennet)
Recalling that year on the Brightness Peak, by the Bluish Green Cold Pool, with lavender gown like a flower and sword brighter than snow, Taj-kis had upset countless heroes and warriors' hearts.
After singing that song, Yin Li continued singing another tune. This time the song was unspeakably weird, the melody was totally different from songs of the Central Earth. If one listened closely, they would be able to discern the words, which were also similar to the song Xiao Zhao used to sing, ‘Coming like the running water, departing like the wind; wonder where it came from, and where it will end!’
She sang these two songs over and over again, while her voice getting softer and softer, until finally her voice was drowned by the noise of the wind and the waves. Everybody pondered how life and death was not eternal; one came into this world lightly, just like the flowing water of the river, without knowing where it came from. It does not matter if you are a hero or a warrior, death is inevitable in the end, coming out of this world also lightly, just like the blowing wind, without knowing where it would go. Zhang Wuji felt that Zhao Min’s delicate fingers in his hand were as cold as ice, and they slightly trembled.
Xie Xun suddenly said, "This is a Persian song; Mrs. Han must have taught her. One evening twenty years ago, I heard this song at the Brightness Peak. Ay, I can’t believe Mrs. Han could be that heartless to hurt this child with a cruel hand.”
"Laoye Zi," Zhao Min asked, "How did Mrs. Han know about a Persian song? Was it a Ming Cult's song?"
Xie Xun replied, "Ming Cult's origin is from Persia, so this Persian song is somewhat related to the Ming Cult; but it is not a Ming Cult song. This song was written by the most famous Persian poet Omar Khayyam more than two hundred years ago; it was said that every Persian could sing this song. When I heard Mrs. Han sing this song, I was touched; thereupon I asked her the story behind this song, and she told me everything:
There was a great Persian philosopher by the name of Imam Mowaffaq Nishapuri; among his disciples, there were three outstanding students: Omar Khayyam, who was a master in literature studies, Nizam-ul-Mulk, who was an expert in political studies, and Hassan-i-Sabah, who excelled in martial arts. These three were good friends and bound themselves in an oath, to face fortune and adversity together, and not to forget each other in riches and honor.
Later on because of his accomplishment, Nizam-al-Mulk became Vizier to the Seljukid Empire. His two old friends came to seek shelter. Nizam entreated the Shah, and Hassan was granted an official position. Omar was not willing to be a government official; he only asked for annual provision so that he could research and study astronomy, almanac and mathematics, also to drink wine and write poems in peace. Nizam generously granted each of his friends’ requests.
Unexpectedly, Hassan was ambitious; he was unwilling to be someone else’s subordinate for long and thus staged a rebellion. His attempt was foiled and he fled to a mountain. Later on he became the chief of a sect whose prestige shook the world. This sect specifically took murder as their service, and was called the Hashhashin Sect. During the Crusades, whenever someone in the western region mentioned the name of The Old Man of the Mountain, Hassan, no hearts would be exempt from shaking in fear. Many of the western region’s rulers lost their lives under the innumerable assassins under The Old Man of the Mountain.
Mrs. Han told me that in the far west [i.e. Europe] there is one great nation called England. This country’s King Edward has offended The Old Man of the Mountain, so he dispatched a band of assassins. The King was wounded by a poisoned blade. Luckily, the Queen sacrificed herself to save her husband by sucking the poison from his wound. As a result, the King survived.
In spite of the kindness he received in the former days, Hassan dispatched his men to assassinate the Vizier, Nizam-al-Mulk. At the point of his death, the Vizier uttered Omar Khayyam’s verse; these two lines ‘Coming like the running water, departing like the wind; wonder where it came from, and where it will end.’
Mrs. Han also told me that afterwards, the martial art from The Old Man of the Mountain’s Sect was practiced by the people of the Persian Ming Cult. The Persian Three Emissaries’ martial art was odd in a strange way; I suppose it stemmed from The Old Man of the Mo
untain’s martial art.”
"Laoye Zi,” Zhao Min said, "This Mrs. Han’s character is similar to that of The Old Man of the Mountain; you treated her with utmost kindness, yet she plotted to harm you.”
Xie Xun sighed, "It is common for people to repay kindness with evil; what’s so strange about that?” he said.
Zhao Min lowered her head and was silent for half a day before saying, "Mrs. Han was the chief of the Ming Cult’s Four Kings, but her martial art skill is not necessarily superior to Laoye Zi. Last night, why didn’t she use the deathly stances of ‘qian zhu wan du shou’ [hand of thousand spiders ten thousands poisons] when she fought with the Persian Three Emissaries?”
"Qian zhu wan du shou?” Xie Xun asked, "Mrs. Han does not know that skill. She is a woman of an outstanding beauty, and she cherishes her appearance more than her life; how could she be willing to practice this kind of skill?”
Zhang Wuji, Zhao Min and Zhou Zhiruo were startled; they thought Jin Hua Popo was ugly.
Looking at her present appearance, even if she was thirty, forty years younger, it would be very difficult for them to say that she possessed an outstanding beauty. Her nose was crooked and her lips thick; her face was oval-shaped, her ears as big as a pair of fans. Certainly these features would not change over time.
Zhao Min laughed and said, "Laoye Zi, I’ll say Jin Hua Popo’s beauty is nowhere near ‘outstanding.’”
"What?” Xie Xun said, "Zi Shan Long Wang’s [purple-robed dragon king] beauty is similar to deities’. Twenty some years ago she was the Wulin World’s Number One Beauty. Granted that she is advanced in years now, but her gracefulness in the past should still be there ... Ay, too bad I cannot see her anymore.”
Listening to him speaking seriously, Zhao Min had a vague feeling that something was wrong; this ugly, hunched back and sickly woman was the Wulin World’s Number One Beauty? Nobody would buy that. "Laoye Zi,” she asked, "Your name shook the Jianghu, your martial art skill is high, so nobody would doubt you. Bai Mei Ying Wang [white-browed eagle king] founded a cult. He managed to stand equally with the six major sects, and even fought valiantly against them for over twenty years. Qing Yi Fu Wang [green-winged bat king] comes and goes like a ghost. That day at the Wan An Temple he threatened to destroy my face; hereafter if I think about it, I am still shivering in fear. On the other hand Jin Hua Popo to have a position above the other three is rather unsuitable although her martial art skill is also high and quite resourceful. I wonder why?”
