Smiling Proud Wanderer Vol 03

by Jin Yong

  “Yes!” Shangguan Yun acknowledged and put both of his arms besides his body. Even after a long time, that ‘General Yang’ still hadn’t come out yet, but Shangguan Yun just stood there respectfully waiting. Linghu Chong thought, “Elder Shangguan’s position in the sect isn’t low, but once he comes up the cliff, everyone looks down on him and treats him just like a servant. Even the servants here seem to have more power than him. What kind of person is that General Yang? Most likely, he’s that Yang Lianting person. Before he came to be a general, he was just some ordinary servant doing some trifle things. But now the White Tiger Hall’s elder actually has to wait respectfully for his arrival. Dongfang Bubai has really gone too far!”

  After another long wait, footsteps were heard coming towards them. From the sound of the steps, it seemed that the person had no internal energy at all. With a cough, a person emerged from behind the screen. Linghu Chong took a peek and saw that this person was around thirty years old and was wearing a red jujube satin gown. He appeared tall and strong, and his face was full of beard. In appearance, he really looked like a healthy and powerful martial artist.

  Linghu Chong thought, “Yingying said that Dongfang Bubai is very pampering towards this guy, and she also said that the relationship between these two is shady. I always thought that he would look like a girly and pretty man, who would’ve thought he’d be this big and burly fellow. This is really outside my imagination. Could it be that he’s not Yang Lianting?” He then heard that person said, “Elder Shangguan, you successfully accomplished your goal of capturing Linghu Chong. Chief will definitely be happy with this.” His voice was really deep and was pleasant to hear.

  Shangguan Yun bowed to him and said, “That’s all because of Chief’s good fortune and General Yang’s thorough advice. Subordinate is merely carrying out Chief’s order.”

  Linghu Chong inwardly felt strange. “This person must surely be Yang Lianting!”

  Yang Lianting walked to the side of the stretcher and took a look at Linghu Chong’s face. Linghu Chong’s eyes were unfocused, his mouth hung slightly open, and he was wearing a stupefied expression while his whole body was bloodied as though he had received some heavy injuries. Yang Lianting asked, “Is this almost dead person Linghu Chong? Are you sure you got the right person?”

  “Subordinate saw with my own eyes when he took the leadership of Heng-Shan School, so it couldn’t be wrong. In addition, he gave Elder Jia three stabs in his major acupoints and also injured Subordinate’s two palms. My injuries are serious, it’s likely that it won’t be healed in one and a half year,” Shangguan Yun reported.

  Yang Lianting laughed, “You beat up Young Lady Ren’s beloved until he’s like this. Be careful, she’ll come and kill you.”

  “Subordinate is loyal to Chief. I don’t care about other people’s hatred towards me. It’s Subordinate’s wish to be loyal to Chief till death; then my whole family would’ve been honoured,” Shangguan Yun replied.

  “Very good, very good. I must tell Chief about your loyalty, Chief will definitely heap you with gifts. The Wind and Thunder Hall’s elder has betrayed Chief and sowed confusion. Have you known about this?”

  “Subordinate doesn’t know the details, but would like to consult General about this. If Chief or General has an order, subordinate will put my life on the line to do it. I will go through fire and water and I wouldn’t balk at a thousand deaths,” Shangguan Yun said.

  Yang Lianting sat on a chair and let out a long sigh. "This old guy Tong Baixiong, he's always relied on Chief's kindheartedness. He regards himself highly and has always looked down on other people. In the last few years, he's been secretly plotting to rebel with some of his friends. I've seen clues of this for a long time already. Who would've thought that he becomes even more and more of an outlaw as days go by. He even went to collude with that sect rebel Ren Woxing; how absurd!"

  "He actually went to... went to collude with that Ren?" Shangguan Yun’s voice was trembling, it was obvious that he was greatly shocked.

  "Elder Shangguan, why are you so afraid? That Ren Woxing doesn't have three heads and six arms. In the days gone by, Chief played him till he was doing everything that Chief asked him to. It was only because of Chief's kindness that he's still alive today. If he doesn't come to Dark Wood Cliff then it doesn't matter, but if he dares to come here, wouldn't it be just like slaughtering a chicken?"

  "Yes, yes,” Shangguan Yun agreeing with him. “But how did Tong Baixiong collude with him?"

  Yang Lianting explained, "Tong Baixiong secretly met with Ren Woxing, and the two of them had a long chat for many hours. Another traitor of the sect was also there, Xiang Wentian. Someone saw them having the meeting. What could he be talking about with these two traitors for so long? It must've been a secret meeting to rebel against Chief. When Tong Baixiong returned to Dark Wood Cliff, I asked him whether this meeting happened. He actually admitted it!"

  Shangguan Yun said, "He already admitted it then naturally he didn't do anything wrong."

  Yang Lianting said, "I asked him why didn't he go and report to Chief after meeting Ren Woxing. He said: 'Brother Ren came to me to have a chat. He regards me as a friend, I also regard him as a friend, why can't friends have a chat with each other?' I asked him: 'Ren Woxing has returned to Jianghu and he's intending to attack Chief. You already know about this point. Since he's not going to be polite to Chief, how can you still regard him as a friend?' His reply was even more ridiculous, damn him, this old chap actually said: 'I'm afraid it's Chief who's being impolite to other people, it's not necessarily other people who's being impolite to Chief!'"

  "This old chap is talking nonsense! Chief's righteousness is as high as the sky and he treats his friends very generously, how can he be impolite to people? That naturally is being ungrateful to Chief." When Yang Lianting heard these words, of course he believed that the word 'Chief' was referring to Dongfang Bubai. But Shangguan Yun was actually praising Ren Woxing. Linghu Chong and party then heard him continue, "Since Subordinate has already vowed my loyalty and devotion to Chief, if I heard any daring rats to speak rudely about Chief, I would never let them go." These words were actually aimed to scold Yang Lianting, but how would he know? Yang Lianting laughed and said, "Very good, if all the brothers in the sect can be like Elder Shangguan and be very loyal to Chief, what else do we need to worry about? You've worked hard already, go down and take a rest."

  Shangguan Yun was startled. "Subordinate would really like to meet Chief. Every time Subordinate sees Chief, I would feel greatly vigorous and would be able to do my duty with enthusiasm. It'd be as if I had cultivated my internal energy for ten years."

  Yang Lianting tastelessly laughed and said, "Chief is very busy, I'm afraid he doesn't have time to see you."

  Shangguan Yun put his hand into his bosom and when he took it out, there were more than ten pearls on his palm. He walked forward a few steps and whispered, "General Yang, when subordinate went on the mission this time, I managed to get these eighteen pearls. I'd like to give these as a present. I hope that General would let me see Chief. If Chief likes them, maybe he would promote me and then heap me with gifts."

  Yang Lianting smiled falsely. "We're brothers, why do we need to be so polite? Thank you very much." Then he lowered his voice and said, "When I see Chief, I'll put in a good word for you and advise him to promote you to be the elder of the Green Dragon Hall."

  Shangguan Yun bowed again and again. Then he said, "If I get promoted, Shangguan Yun would never forget Chief's and General's kindness."

  Yang Lianting said, "Wait here till Chief is free, then he'll ask you to come in."

  "Yes, yes, yes!" Shangguan Yun excitedly replied. He then closed his hand around the pearls and retreated a few steps. Yang Lianting stood up and in a grand manner went inside. After another long time, a purple-gowned servant came out. He stood erect and in a clear voice announced, "Refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior, the just and wise Chief commands: Elder Shangguan Yun of White T
iger Hall, take the prisoner and enter."

  Shangguan Yun said, "Thank you for Chief's grace. I wish Chief a long life and to unify the Jianghu." He then swung his left hand across asking the purple gown servant to lead the way. Ren Woxing, Xiang Wentian, and Yingying carried Linghu Chong behind them. As they walked in, the veranda above them was full of warriors armed with spears. They entered three iron gates and arrived at a long corridor whose sides were lined up by hundreds of warriors. Each of the warriors carried a long sabre in his hand and had crossed the sabres above their heads. Shangguan Yun and his party bent their waists and lowered their heads as they walked along the corridor. If any of these hundreds of sabres suddenly chopped down then they would surely lose their heads. Ren Woxing and Xiang Wentian had gone through more than a hundred battles and they wouldn't have even given these warriors a thought, but to be able to see Dongfang Bubai, they had to endure these insults first. They felt vehemence in their hearts. Linghu Chong thought, "Dongfang Bubai treats his subordinates so rudely. How can they remain loyal to him? His subordinates haven't rebelled yet only because they're afraid of him. But if Dongfang Bubai looks down on this people, how can he not be defeated?"

  After they went through the sabre path, they arrived at a doorway covered by a curtain. Shangguan Yun parted the curtain and went inside. Suddenly, flickering of lights was seen as eight spears were thrust at him from everywhere. Four spears were aimed at the front of his chest while the other four spears were aimed at the back of his body, the spears stopped inches from touching him. Linghu Chong immediately surmised the situation and thus extended his hand to grab the long sword stored underneath the bandage on his thigh. But he saw Shangguan Yun just standing there motionless while calling out clearly, “Elder Shangguan Yun from the White Tiger Hall is here to pay his respect to the refined scholar, kind-hearted warrior, the just and wise Chief!”

  Someone from inside the hall shouted, “Enter!”

  The eight spearmen immediately retreated to form two lines on either side. Linghu Chong only then understood. Originally, when these eight spearmen stabbed out with their spears, they were just trying to frighten them. If the people coming into the hall had bad intentions, when they saw the eight spears being thrust towards them, they would immediately draw their weapons to fight back. Then the betrayal would’ve been exposed.

  They entered a big hall and Linghu Chong thought, “What a long hall!” The width of the hall was only around thirty feet, but the depth of the hall was around three hundred feet. At the end of the hall, an old man with a long beard was seated. That person was Dongfang Bubai.

  There was no window inside the hall, and only candles illuminated the inside of the hall. On both sides of Dongfang Bubai’s seat were two flickering oil lamps. At the distance they were at, they couldn’t see Dongfang Bubai’s appearance clearly. Shangguan Yun knelt at the bottom of the stairs and said clearly, “Chief is a refined scholar and kind-hearted warrior; just and wise, flourishes the Divine Sect, and benefits the common people. Subordinate Elder Shangguan Yun of White Tiger Hall pays his respect to Chief.”

  The purple-gowned servant standing besides Dongfang Bubai shouted, “How come your subordinates aren’t kneeling when paying their respects to Chief?”

  Ren Woxing thought, “The moment hasn’t arrived yet. What’s the harm in kneeling to you? Wait until I pull your muscle out and skin you alive.” At this thought, he immediately lowered his head and kneeled down. When Xiang Wentian and Yingying saw him kneeling down, they also knelt down. Shangguan Yun said, “Subordinate’s men have always longed to see Chief. Today, Chief has finally bestowed us with this kindness. This is really a kindness that has favoured eighteen generations of their ancestors. Once they saw Chief, they were so pleased that they forgot to kneel down. Please forgive them.”

  Yang Lianting was standing besides Dongfang Bubai. He said, “Report to Chief how Elder Jia died for the sect.”

  Shangguan Yun replied, “Elder Jia and Subordinate were carrying out Chief’s order. In the last few years, we both have been promoted by Chief. This is a big kindness that’s hard to repay. So this time when Chief put this heavy responsibility on both of us, we both were feeling very vigorous. We felt that since Chief instructed us to do this, and also because of Chief’s foolproof plan, no matter who’s been assigned to capture Linghu Chong, they would never fail. Since Chief sent the two of us, we had no concern whatsoever…” Linghu Chong was lying on the stretcher and his mind was secretly scolding, “Disgusting, disgusting! Shangguan Yun’s nickname has the word ‘hero’ in it. But he can say this without his face turning red or his ears turning red, I didn’t know there’s such a shameless person in this world.”

  At this moment, he heard someone shouting from behind them, “Brother Dongfang, was it really you who sent people to capture me?” This person’s voice sounded old but his inner energy was abundant. After he had spoken these words, the echo from his voice reverberated throughout the hall showing just how powerful he was. He guessed that this person was the Wind and Thunder Hall’s elder, Tong Baixiong.

  Notes

  [←1]

  Ren Woxing means “go anywhere I wish” in Chinese.

  [←2]

  Jin-Jing is an acupoint.

  [←3]

  Dan-Tian is an acupoint, but is normally used to refer to the lower abdomen region where inner energy can be stored at.

  [←4]

  Catty is a unit of weight used in Southeast Asia, especially a Chinese measure equal to 500 grams (approximately 1.1 pounds).

  [←5]

  Dan-Zhong is an acupoint in the middle of one’s chest by the Solar Plexus.

  [←6]

  Your granny is a swear word that this officer likes to use

  [←7]

  Shi Tai means a nun who is already old but it can also be a title to a nun who holds a high position in the temple. For lack of a better word in English, I'm leaving it as Shi Tai.

  [←8]

  DongFang BiBai means DongFang is defeated, whereas his original name DongFang BuBai means DongFang undefeated

  [←9]

  Play of words on her name

  [←10]

  A" bucket of rice" means good for nothing

  [←11]

  It’s bad luck for someone to jump over your head

  [←12]

  "Ma Ge Guo Shi" is a phrase that means "to die in the battlefield". When this is translated literally, it means "corpse wrapped in horse's skin". But what Linghu Chong said "Ma Ge Li Shi" has no meaning. He deliberately replaced the word "Guo" with "Li".

  [←13]

  He's telling Dingjing Shi Tai which characters his name "Tiande" use.

  [←14]

  This means that she'll be easy pickings

  [←15]

  Ren Woxing: the Wo in his name mean I, Ren Nixing: the Ni in this name means You.

  [←16]

  This is a 3rd edition addition. added from Athena's post.

  [←17]

  The words in Chinese are rearranged to come up with the second interpretation.

  [←18]

  Gao Kexin said "Dong Xi" which literally means "east west". But these two words together means "object".

  [←19]

  : A visit box is a wooden box containing the visitor's calling card which is given to the host's servants at the gate to be presented to the host.

  [←20]

  Dragon Spring or Longquan in Chinese is the name of a city in the Zhejiang province. Near that city is a valley that has creeks running through it that were used by Ou Yezi to forge some legendary swords. That valley is called Dragon Spring Sword-forging Valley. If you’d like to find out more, look at “Legend of the White Hair Demoness” chapter 11 translation by Fairie Queene.)

  [←21]

  Blood letter is a letter written in blood

  [←22]

  The word “gentleman” consists of two Chinese characters. By adding an extra character in front of it, it becomes the word “h
ypocrite”. That’s the connection between these two words

  [←23]

  Peeling Leather means to kill people

  [←24]

  Flood Dragon is a mythical creature capable of invoking storm and flood.

  [←25]

  "Like thunder entering the ears" is an idiom that means "have long resounded in my ears"

  [←26]

  Stinking ugly in Chinese contains the character "eight" in the phrase. But it doesn't translate well in English here with the joke.

  [←27]

  Some Chinese lessons to understand the next part. For this case, the Chief here is called "meng zhu" ( 盟主 ). Meng means alliance ( 盟 ); Zhu means lord/master ( 主 ). The character "meng" consists of two characters "ming" ( 明 ) on top and "min" ( 皿 ) at the bottom. Ming means clear/bright; Min means shallow container.

  Now, when a downwards-left curved character stroke called "pie" is added to the character "min" ( 皿 ), then it becomes "xue" ( 血 ). Xue means blood.

  [←28]

  Peachtree Trunk Fairy misheard the pronunciation so he thought Peachtree Branch Fairy said "Less a bit" and not "Less a "pie""

  [←29]

  This is still play on words in Chinese

  [←30]

  This means to fortify the defence works and to leave nothing usable to the invading enemy.

  [←31]

  Shi zhu is a term of address used by monks or nuns referring to a believer in Buddhism.

  [←32]

  Ren Woxing's name means "To do what I please". He's saying Nixing which means "To do what you want me to do"