Blood Stains Eighteen-Point Mountain《血染十八尖山》is a short novel by Fu Hongxue 傅紅雪. It is a book of the Legend of Nangong Xue series. I don’t know which number in the series it is, but probably around a dozen or so books into the series at this point. The series seems to be modeled after Gu Long’s Chu Liuxiang or Lu Xiaofeng series, with a main character and cast of secondary companion characters. These series provided the model for other writers to begin their own series, including Huang Ying’s Shen Shengyi series, Long Chengfeng’s Snowblade Vagabond and Chu Xueyi series, and this one, Fu Hongxue’s Nangong Xue series (yes the author’s pen name is taken from Gu Long’s famous character).
What sets this series apart from the others mentioned is this one features a female protagonist. I don’t know much about this series, but the female lead made me interested in checking it out. So I am going to translate this book. I only have access to a few of the stories in this series, and I chose this one after skimming the description of the plot in the table of contents. Seemed the most interesting. Blood Stains Eighteen-Point Mountain was published as the feature entry in the first issue of the 30th year (1988) of Wuxia World Magazine《武俠世界》the most popular and longest-lived of the wuxia fiction magazines. It was published out of Hong Kong from April 1959 to January 2019 when it finally shut down.
This page will be updated with new installments as I finish them. You can skip to each part by clicking the link in the table of contents above. This short novel runs 40 pages in the issue. The feature novels in each issue of Wuxia World Magazine were published complete in one issue and typically ran 30-50 pages. But they are large pages with multiple rows. Blood Stains Eighteen-Point Mountain is probably around the same length as Heartbroken Arrow by Liu Canyang I translated earlier. Give or take. There’s very little information about this series, so I am learning as I read. A few points about the characters:
Nangong Xue 南宮雪 – protagonist, female
Liu Huahua 柳花花 – Nangong Xue’s lover, male
Ximen Yu 西門雨 – friend of Nangong Xue and Liu Huahua, male
Meng Xiye 孟西野 – friend of all the above, male
Peng Xiaomei 彭笑梅 – Nangong Xue’s benefactor
Updates will be whenever I have them. I hope to get a little posted each day.
Chapter 1: Crazy Driving Leads to an Accident
The moon at midautumn was bright.
Tomorrow was actually midautumn, but the bright moon hung high in the sky, its beautiful glow making one think that midautumn had arrived early.
Under the pure white of the moon, a large, magnificent carriage flew like and arrow.
The horse and carriage were from Kong Manor, but neither the driver nor the passengers were from Kong Manor. The driver was Second Young Master Meng Xiye of Meng Manor. The passengers were the Qian family’s “Ninth Princess” Nangong Xue and the “Black Lady” Peng Xiaomei, as well as the world-renowned “Second Sword under Heaven” Ximen Yu—of the four, only Ximen Yu had a close, long-lasting relationship with the Kong family.
Two men, two women.
One of the men was wounded, the other had been subdued by acupoint. The wounded one was Meng Xiye. He had taken a kick and a punch from Ximen Yu and had suffered an internal injury, though fortunately it had not injured his internal organs. After ingesting medicine, regulating his breathing, and with some luck, although he could not be said to have fully recovered, but his ability to drive a carriage so fast and steady showed he was alright. And Ximen Yu had had several acupoints blocked by Nangong Xue’s one-of-a-kind technique. He could talk and move like normal, he just couldn’t concentrate his internal perfected qi and wouldn’t be able to fight for a period of time.
One of the women was wounded as well—Peng Xiaomei had been stabbed by Ximen Yu’s sword after sneaking into Kong Manor to assassinate Kong Dayi. Her left shoulder bone was shattered and she had grit her teeth and cut her arm off to escape. Meng Xiye had bandaged her up carefully, but the fresh wound had not yet healed.
Of the two men and two women, only Nangong Xue was at “normal capacity”.
It had been her idea to save Peng Xiaomei from Ximen Yu and the Kong’s men, and she had been successful—at least she had carried off the assassin (Peng Xiaomei) and the hostage (Ximen Yu) without a hitch and fled straight out to Eighteen-Point Mountain in the eastern outskirts of the city.
The assassin Peng Xiaomei and her were both women, and she had once saved Nangong Xue from being raped by Little Marquis Di—she was without a doubt Nangong Xue’s savior.
Hostage Ximen Yu was “Foppish Young Master” Liu Huahua’s good friend, and so you could say he was Nangong Xue’s friend as well. Particularly when they had fought, Ximen Yu clearly could have defeated her with a single sword stroke, even killed Nangong Xue, but at the last moment he had shown mercy and so had instead been defeated and subdued by Nangong Xue. In fact, he owed a debt of gratitude to Nangong Xue.
The assassin and the hostage, as far as Nangong Xue was concerned, were people who could not be hurt—she was wedged between the two, the situation was delicate.
* * * * *
Peng Xiaomei sat close to the window.
The chilly night wind along with the pure white moonlight streamed in, capricious and mischievous and perhaps a bit curious as it blew on her face veil, hair, and clothes, but it did not move her eyes—her eyes above the black veil were cold and detached, resolutely cold and detached!
She cast those cold eyes on the fine but empty night sky and slowly asked, “Nangong Xue, where are you planning to drop me off?”
Nangong Xue said, “Eighteen-Point Mountain.”
Peng Xiaomei was silent.
Nangong Xue looked at her. She felt she looked very much like a lifeless black goddess. “Even though the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain meeting is tomorrow, things have changed now; we might as well take a look first, maybe those bunch of scumbags have already arrived. You think so?”
Peng Xiaomei didn’t say if she thought so or not. Right now she didn’t seem like she wanted to say anything else at all.
Nangong Xue knew her moods and didn’t say anything further, but then she suddenly had a thought and blurted out, “Eh, where’s that dog Blackie? Why don’t I see it here in the carriage?”
Peng Xiaomei still said nothing, her pale, tightly pursed lips tightened further, but there was a sudden gleam of pain in her cold, detached eyes!
“What happened to it?” Nangong Xue’s eyes widened and there was a tremor in her voice. “Did… did it… die…”
Peng Xiaomei didn’t respond.
She suddenly turned her face away.
As she turned away, Nangong Xue caught sight of a sparkling, crystal-clear tear slide quickly down the corner of her eye.
She was crying!
She was actually crying!
—Even when she had related how she had been gang raped by the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain, drugged and raped by Little Marquis Di, and heartlessly forced to hang herself by Kong Dayi she, Nangong Xue had not seen her shed a tear.
Now, she had come to tears over a dog.
Nangong Xue’s own eyes were teary—she had really loved that big black dog. She felt it was the most affectionate, most loyal dog in the world.
It was dead!
—Killed by Ximen Yu of course.
She glared at him angrily!
* * * * *
Ximen Yu was laying on the side seat, slightly squinting his beutiful, bright eyes, looking at Nangong Xue with a three-tenths puzzled, seven-tenths strange look. When he saw her angry glare, he immediately sat up and with a wry smile said, “Don’t say I’m indifferent to that big black dog. when I stole in through the window, it viciously pounced on me so fast I didn’t have time to dodge, all I could do was give it a swift kick, and then it was on the floor not moving. I don’t know if it died or was just knocked out…”
He paused. “I was only focused on catching the assassin. Afterward, I forgot about that dog…”
“Nangong Xue,” Peng Xiaomei suddenly blurted.
“What is it?”
Peng Xiaomei was still facing away from her, so Nangong Xue couldn’t see her expression, but she heard in her voice she was holding back her anger, but her voice still trembled violently, “If it didn’t die, please take good care of it for me; if it did die, please give it a good burial…”
“I will!” Nangong Xue covered her mouth, forcing back tears.
“Thank you.”
Nangong Xue had gone to a lot of trouble to save her, yet she had not said a word of thanks, but for the sake of a dog she had finally said it.
Nangong Xue of couse paid no mind to the thanks, she was deeply touched by her affection for her dog, as if its life mattered more to her than her own. She was so moved she could hardly speak, “Don’t worry, I will do all I can to take good care of it…”
Was Blackie dead?
Nangong Xue didn’t know, and she didn’t think about it, instead she suddenly thought of something else that really surprised her. “Ximen Yu, did you just say you came in through the window to capture her?”
“Yeah.” Ximen Yu’s animated face maintained a forced smile. “I was going to go in through the door, but I was afraid of breaking your expensive, beautiful carved doors, so I just had to do it the hard way and leap to the roof, then jump down through the window…”
“Didn’t you say,” Nangong Xue’s eyes widened, “when I stopped your caravan, didn’t you say that you had captured her strolling by the lake?”
“Of course not.” Ximen Yu gave a faint smile, one foot propped up on the seat in a casual, careless manner. “In such a feared state, every tree or bush an enemy soldier, how could she be out by the lake?”
Now that Nangong Xue thought about it, Peng Xiaomei would never be so stupid as to take one step from her room, how could she have been by the lake? Nangong Xue blinked her clear, glittering, raven-black eyes. “How did you know she was hiding in my room?”
Ximen Yu smiled. “You told me…”
“I told you?” Nangong Xue was dumbfounded. “When did I tell you?”
Ximen Yu fixed her a look and said simply, “i thought it weird when I saw you were carrying supper upstairs… After you went upstairs, I chatted casually with a few waiters, and they all said you weren’t a ‘big eater’, yet you were carrying three or four people’s worth of foodup the stairs, how could I not be suspicious?”
“You really are a shrewd one.” Nangong Xue laughed. “I thought I had fooled you…”
There was a pause and then her eyes took on a hard look. “Since you knew I was hiding her, why didn’t you say something instead of waiting till I went out to act?”
Ximen Yu shrugged. “If I had exposed it right out, would you have just stood by and let me take her away?”
“No1” Nangong Xue gave a stern pout with her beautiful lips. “Of course I wouldn’t have!”
“I knew that since you were hiding her there was no way you’d just let me take her,” Ximen Yu said. “In order to avoid clashing with you, I had no choice but to keep quiet and wait for an opportunity…”
Nangong Xue sighed faintly, a trace of admiration in her eyes. “You really are an old jianghu…1 I should have known you were an old fox. I got careless, goddammit.”
A moment later she asked, “So then why did you tell me you caught her out by the lake?”
Ximen Yu smiled. “I caught the assassin by myself, no one knew she was hiding in your room, so I had to lie in order to not let the Kongs know you were harboring her. It wouldn’t be easy for you if you made enemies with the Kong family and with the Di family of Jiangnan…”
Nangong Xue was silent.
Ximen Yu watched her quietly, that queer look in his eyes never dissipating.
Nangong Xue avoided his gaze and said faintly, “Why did you treat me like this, even putting away your sword at the final moment when you could have easily defeated me… Why did you do that?”
“Friendship.” Ximen Yu suddenly lay back down, using his arm as a pillow. “Don’t forget we’re friends, aren’t we?”
“But…” Nangong Xue suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn’t help but think of Liu Huahua. That guy was the same way; if there was enough space, he would always lay down in the seat like a lazy snake, causing people to say he had rickets. “You doing that for me, what about the Kongs? How are you going to explain it to them?”
“So I had to lose to you.” Ximen Yu turned his face to the side with a smile. “Otherwise, what else could I do to have it both ways?”
The trace of a smile appeared in Nangong Xue’s crescent moon eyes. She opened her mouth to speak when suddenly felt the carriage slowing down, and she immediately ran to the front of the carriage.
“Meng Xiye.” Nangong Xue moved close to Meng Xiye and asked carefully, “Is something wrong?”
“Is what wrong?” Meng Xiye looked at her and grinned. “I’m not bragging, but my driving is so fast not even the wind can catch me…”
“Then why did you slow down?”
“To change carriages,” Meng Xiye said. “Didn’t I tell you we had to change carriages? We have to change or else using a Kong carriage would be too conspicuous…”
“You’re right,” Nangong Xue nodded. “Changing carriages is safer… Is there a carriage here for us to change to?”
“Half a mile ahead around the bend there is a post station.” Meng Xiye stopped the carriage in a bamboo grove on the side of the road. “Alright, you all wait here for me, I’ll go rent the carriage…”
“Why do we have to wait here?” Nangong Xue asked. “Why not just take the carriage directly…”
“You really are stupid!” Meng Xiye interjected. “If we drive the carriage over, and they recognize the Kong manor carriage, then…”
“You’re right.” Nangong Xue gave an embarrassed chuckle, “I admit I really am getting dumber and dumber…”
She paused, then with a smile said, “Alright, you’ve been driving so long you must be tired, you rest here and I’ll go rent the carriage…”
“No,” Meng Xiye snapped his whip. “If you go, you’ll leave an even deeper impression in the post station people. If the Kongs inquire about it, wouldn’t that be awful?”
“Why would I leave a deep impression on them?” Nangong Xue was defiant. “Do I have two noses or something?”
“It’d be nice if you really did have two noses, then who’d want to look at you?” Meng Xiye grinned and laughed. “It’s because you only have one nose, a beautiful nose to rouse people’s envy, so you will leave a deep impression on people, understand?”
“You little bastard, taking advantage of me all day long.” Nangong Xue glared at him with a coy pout, “One of these days I’ll shut your mouth and flatten your nose…”
Meng Xiye laughed.
As he laughed, he stood up and shot off, and suddenly he was gone…
“Is my nose really that pretty?” Nangong Xue watched him disappear in the distance, rubbing the tip of her dainty, delicate nose, unexpectedly mumbling to herself, “That guy is the first man to tell me I have a pretty nose…”
She turned around and saw Ximen Yu had at some point moved to sit in the driver’s seat, startling her. “Why did you come out?”
“It’s stuffy inside,” Ximen Yu said, smiling. “You struck my acupoints, and I was becoming more and more an eyesore to that woman the more she looked at me, making her bolder. She could kill me with one stroke of the sword, wouldn’t that be wrong?”
Yeah, why didn’t I think of that? Nangong Xue thought, dismayed, but she said, “No way, she wouldn’t kill an innocent. She just wants to kill those she thinks ought to be killed, she would’nt kill you, Ximen Yu…”
To herself, though, Nangong Xue was wiping away cold sweat. Peng Xiaomei’s shoulder had been shattered by Ximen Yu, and she had lost an arm because of it, plus he had captured her and beat her beloved dog to death. If she was nursing hatred, it wouldn’t be uncalled for for her to kill Ximen Yu when he was unable to resist…
Peng Xiaomei had given up such a great opportunity for revenge! That proved she really didn’t want to hurt anyone!
“She’s a kindhearted woman…” Ximen Yu sighed with emotion.
“And a misfortunate, pitiable woman,” Nangong Xue said in a low, downcast voice. “So I risked my life to help her, not to mention she once saved me…”
“She saved you?”
“Yeah…” Nangong Xue nodded. She focused her eyes on him and asked, “Do you know why she used such a brutal way to kill Kong Dayi, Little Marquis Di, and Cai Dasheng?”
Ximen Yu shook his head.
“I’ll tell you…”
* * * * *
After Nangong Xue told Ximen Yu about Peng Xiaomei’s misfortune and a brief account of her own rescue, Ximen Yu couldn’t help but heave a deep sigh. “If everything she said is true, then death was too good for the likes of Kong Dayi and Little Marquis Di…”
“And those nine scumbags!” Nangong Xue said through clenched teeth. “If the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain don’t die, is there any justice?”
Ximen Yu didn’t respond.
He suddenly got oddly quiet and muttered under his breath, “No wonder, no wonder…”
“No wonder what?” Nangong Xue asked, blinking.
“Nothing.” Ximen Yu suddenly looked at her, smiling, and changed the subject, “How come that Meng Xiye isn’t back yet?”
“This late, the post station is probably closed,” Nangong Xue said. “He has to call at the door, pick a carriage, select horses, it takes time. How could he get back here so quickly?”
“The Mengs and the Kongs go way back and have always been close,” Ximen Ye said. “Won’t him helping you put the Kongs in a really awkward position?”
“I know.” Nangong Xue was very apologetic. “I only intended for him to help me on the sly. I never imagined he would so brazenly attack you… And you know, I told him not to get involved, he just wouldn’t listen…”
“I think,” Ximen Yu said in a low voice, “Nangong Xue, you aren’t a three-year-old, you’re an old jianghu yourself actually, you ought to know I’m not just saying this to scare you, but the situation right now is clear: the Kong family will no doubt do all they can to go after you all…”
“That I know.” Nangong Xue had an apologetic look in her eyes. “SO I had to take you hostage in order to make the Kongs think twice. No matter what, they won’t disregard you, right?”
“Yeah, “the Kongs will have some scruples on account of me; they won’t dare to go all out. But…”
“But what?”
“What about the Di family?”
“The Di family?” Nangong Xue was slightly at a loss. “You mean the Di family of Jiangnan?”
“The Dis lost Little Marquis Di and Cai Dasheng. Don’t tell me you think they will just sit back and do nothing and just let it go?” Ximen Yu said gravely, “Everyone knows the Jiangnan Dis have been officials for generations. Even though now they have been deposed by the imperial court, a dead cat is still somewhat intimidating, a rotten boat still contains three catties of nails. No matter what, their capacity for vengeance is nothing to be taken lightly. Don’t you agree?”
A moment later, his voice even more grave, he said, “Most importantly, when they do get revenge, they will do so with their full might and will stop at nothing…”
“They won’t care about your life?” Nangong Xue broke in.
“Of course they won’t care,” Ximen Yu said plainly. “Because I have no relations whatsoever with the Di family!”
Nangong Xue shrugged, looking helpless. “It is what it is, the boat’s in the middle of the river, I can’t pay it much mind. When the troops arrive we fend them off, when the waters come we stop it up with dirt. I’ll do what I have to do when the time comes…”
“That’s not what I mean.” Ximen Yu said gravely, “He knew disgregards far-off troubles will have problems nearby. Especially someone in the jianghu, if you don’t pan far ahead and just rely on reckless courage, sooner or later you’ll end up dead without a proper burial place…”
Nangong Xue’s eyes went cold, and her voice. “Are you trying to convince me to give up on helping Peng Xiaomei?”
“No.” Ximen Yu shook his head. “If an ox doesn’t want to drink water, no one can force it to; Liu Huahua told me about your temper, and I experienced it myself. When you fly into a rage, even a brutish bull would fear you…”
“It’s good that you know,” Nangong Xue cut in with an icy voice. “So then why are you saying these pointless things?”
“I just want to warn you of the consequences…”
“I, Nangong Xue, will bear all the consequences!”
“Is that so?” Ximen Yu’s tone turned cold. “And Meng Xiye? What about him?”
Nangong Xue stared blankly.
“I think you know better than anyone, the Mengs had two sons, and the eldest, Meng Dongye, was killed not long ago.” Ximen Yu said gravely, “Meng Xiye no doubt is the only heir to the Meng family. If he were unfortunate enough to die at the hand of pursuing forces for helping you, Nangong Xue, let me ask you, will you feel sorry?”
Nangong Xue couldn’t answer.
Of course she didn’t want to see anything happen to Meng Xiye—she was a person who didn’t like to get other people involved.
“And you saw it yourself, I’m not lying, back then if I hadn’t shown mercy, would he still be alive?”
The tip of Nangong Xue’s beautiful nose already had a drop of sweat budding on it. What Ximen Yu said was the truth. If he had not shown mercy, not only would Meng Xiye’s life be lost to the netherworld, even she would have been killed!
“To go even further than that,” Ximen Yu’s words shook Nangong Xue’s heart even more, “even if Meng Xiye is safe and sound, how will he face his father? After all, he’s not head of the family yet, and wouldn’t it be really unfilial of him to sink his father into such an unbearable situation? You want Meng Xiye to be labeled unfilial?”
Of course Nangong Xue didn’t want that. She knew Meng Xiye was a quite dutiful young man; it was one of the reasons she liked him so much.
“Enough about him,” Ximen Yu said. “What aboout you? Have you thought about yourself?”
“Myself?”
Ximen Yu locked his eyes on her and said pointedly, “What will you say to Qian Laiye?”
Nangong Xue went “Ah” and was even more speechless! Now she was sweating at the temples…
“Now, everyone in the jianghu knows you are now the ninth precious daughter of Qian Laiye.” What Ximen Yu said made Nangong Xue’s face blanch. “If the Kongs and Dis go right for your adoptive father, what will you do?”
“I…” Nangong Xue hung her head and wiped away her sweat and stammered, “Dad will support me, because what I did was not wrong, right?”
“Right or wrong, it’s hard to say.” Ximen Yu smiled. “Right and wrong is often a matter of the person, the time, perspective, a;; from different ways of looking at it. Especially in the jianghu where the weak are prey to the strong, there often is no right or wrong, only ‘advantage and disadvantage’. I’m just trying now to warn you that if you are not willing to stop helping Peng Xiaomei, it might be very disadvantagous for you…”
Every word that Ximen Yu spoke to Nangong Xue’s innermost heart. “The Kongs and Dis have many business dealings with each other. Once the Kong patriarch learns of the death of Little Marquis Di, he will at once dispatch a carrier pigeon with a letter to inform the Di family. Even though the Dis are far away in Jiangnan and so would not be able to do anything in the short term, but based on what I know, Little Marquis Di’s father, Fi Fei, long ago trained a personal guard that moves fast and fierce. They are said to be able to travel 1,500 miles by day and 1,200 by night, faster than anything the world’s ever seen. That’s why they are known as the ‘Flying Generals’. Now, though he’s advanced in years and no longer as mighty as he once was, an old bull is still strong. Di Fei is still said to train every day without fail and still regards himself as ‘Old Lian Po’. If this is true, then I think Di Fei very well might be able to use his swift troops to get here no later than noon tomorrow…”
Nangong Xue’s face went even paler!
“Naturally, he will come here together with the Kongs.” Ximen Yu’s voice was hard. “After failing to find the assassin, they will naturally look for your dad, Qian Laiye, as punishment. They might not necessarily do anything to the Golden God of Wealth gambling den; after all, now is the age of ‘every man is alone responsible for his own actions’. Unless they have no alternative, they will do their best to avoid involving those who had nothing to do with it. Still, the current jianghu is all about strategy and power; one could even say it’s ‘accomplish the goal by any means necessary’. I don’t think it’s impossible, nor would it be unusual for the Kongs and Dis to put the squeeze on Golden God of Wealth to coerce you into handing her over…”
Nangong Xue was constantly wiping off sweat, but she found it was running like off her like broth, the more she wiped the more she sweated…
“Of course, the ‘Meng Xiye Incident’ exposes Qian Laiye’s identity, and the person who will attract the most attention is the current jianghu’s unparalleled Foppish Young Master’s shifu. Based on that point alone there are not many in the jianghu who would dare to mess with Qian Laiye…” Ximen Yu spoke slow and serious, “But not many doesn’t mean none. The Kong family alone might not have the ability or the guts, but add the power of the Di family and it’s hard to say. Plus they’ve both suffered the pain of losing a son; hate can make some lose their reason and make them risk everything. If they get ruthless and set their spearheads on your dad, no matter who wins or loses, the Qian family will suffer casualties. Let me ask you, Nangong Xue, can you have peace of mind?”
Of course Nangong Xue couldn’t have peace of mind!
Even though her surname was still Nangong, not Qian, and Qian Laiye was not her real father, he and Nangong Xue had gone through hard times together, and at the most dangerous moment Qian Laiye still sacrificed himself to save her and had lost a hand as a result… When she was on the verge of death, deep respect and admiration arose in the deepest recesses of her heart. That’s why she recognized Qian Laiy as her father.
That feeling was real and true!
Especially for someone as old as Nangong Xue to have never called anyone “Dad”, for her, the word “Dad” wasn’t the same as what most people called “godfather” or “adoptive father”—she was really sincere!
100%, 1000%, 10,000% sincere—Nangong Xue really did treat Qian Laiye like her biological father! No, even more than her biological father!
—Up till now, Nangong Xue did not sacrifice to her ancestors, did not indicate to Nangong Changhen that she was the flesh and blood of the House Nangong.
One could even say that since she and Qian Laiye had established their father-daughter relationship, Qian Laiye had treated her as his own, and that close love and affection and familial happiness had cured her wounded heart—and because of this, she had gone from a lonely, detached, one could say even eccentric woman, to a kindhearted, vivacious, passionate and “normal” woman.
If one were to say that Qian Laiye had changed Nangong Xue’s life, she would not deny it.
But would absolutely admit it!
Given the circumstances, if Nangong Xue’s desire to help Peng Xiaomei out of danger led to Qian Laiye getting attacked by the Kongs and Dis, then could Nangong Xue just stand by indifferently?
Of course not!
Anyone in the world, no matter who, even if it was the current son of Heaven, if they dared harm a single hair on Qian Laiye’s head, Nangong Xue swore she would give her life to fight them, and of course it was impossible for anyone to try to get her to harm Qian Liaye.
But, the situation now clearly indicated that Qian Liaye might be harmed because she rescued Peng Xiaomei.
This was something Nangong Xue never have expected in a million years.
Her whole head was not only drenched with sweat, even her palms were sweating!
Ximen Yu watched her quietly, his eyes seeming to penetrate into her heart. “You are already much changed from before. In the past you were all on your own, you could do as you pleased without any worries. Now, no matter what you do, even if you wanted to throw yourself in the river or hang yourself, you’d have to think of how it would hurt your family. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
Ximen Yu said pointedly, “Unless you don’t care whether your father, Qian Liaye, lives or dies and would rather be an unfilial daughter…”
“Shut up!” Nangong Xue suddenly covered her ears and crying, said, “I’ll never be an unfilial daughter! For the rest of my life I will do all I can to love my father! I swore an oath, from the first time I called him ‘Dad’, I swore to myself I would be dutiful to him! I will! Always will…”
“But” Ximen Yu said with a faint sigh, “if you aren’t willing to hand over Peng Xiaomei, you might just become an unfilial daughter…”
“I can’t hand her over!” Nangong Xue was streaming tears, and a bit hysterical, cried, “If I hand over Peng Xiaomei, then won’t I be an ungrateful scoundrel?”
Ximen Yu was silent.
He handed her a handkerchief with a sympathetic look on his face. “I understand your predicament, and I understand how you feel. A fish or a bear’s paw; filial devotion or duty to what is right, you can only choose one…”
Nangong Xue didn’t take the handkerchief, she just let her tears fall. Her heart was wavering like the tips of bamboo now getting knocked about left and right in the evening breeze…
She was deciding.
She was rethinking whether or not her decision was correct!
Ximen Yu said nothing.
He quietly awaited Nangong Xue’s final decision.
He lightly, quite naturally, wiped the tears off Nangong Xue’s cheeks—he was candid and uncontstrained but was more “mature and thoughtful” than most men.
Nangong Xue cast her eyes on him. “If you were me, what would you do?”
“I don’t know.” Ximen shook his head. “I could never be you and could never know what you ought to do. There’s a lot of things in life, especially things like this, that’s hard to tell if it’s right or wrong. I only mentioned the ‘advantage and disadvantage” thing to bring it to your attention. You’re not a little kid anymore, you have enough ability and full authority to choose what direction you should take, but…”
Ximen Yu smiled. “But from my standpoint, of course I hope you would drop this hostage thing at once.”
Nangong Xue suddenly looked up at the bright moon over the top of the bamboo, milky-white moonlight “pouring” out onto her beautiful face. An intense, unflinching determination was clearly rippling on her forehead. She clenched her teeth, and her words were unusually resolute,” Yes, Everyone in the world has a different standpoint, everyone’s decision is different. I have my standpoint, I have my decision…”
Saying that, she suddenly pulled the handbrake and swiftly cracked the whip and the horses neighed amidst the rumbling carriage wheels as a cloud of dust was raised, and before long the carriage had disappeared down a side road in the woods…
* * * * *
The carriage was driven by Nangong Xue so fast it was like it was riding the clouds or flying on the mist. Ximen Yu clutched the wooden carriage bench, his heart beating like fifteen buckets in a well, seven going up, eight going down. He couldn’t help but call out, “Do you always drive like this?”
“Like what?”
Ximen Yu was nearly dumped in the floor by a sharp turn, fear giving his face a deathly pallor. “Don’t you feel that you’re driving like you could collide with something at any moment?”
“Nonsense!” Nangong Xue cracked the whip in her hand, and the four horses pulling the carriage look like they were going into convulsions under her whip, galloping so fast you couldn’t even see their hooves. “I’ve driven three times total and have never had an accident…”
“Three times?” Ximen Yu gasped. “You, you’ve only driven three times?”
“So? Three times with success, that’s pretty good!” Nangong Xue had a proud look on her face. “I remember the first time, Liu Huahua, that brat, rode with me, he was so happy he opened the carriage liquor cabin and drank green bamboo-leaf2 and sang. But he sang so bad it was worse then someone crying…”
“Nangong Xue…”
“What?”
“He told me about that time…”
“I’m not bragging.”
“There’s one part that’s not quite right…”
“Which part?”
“Liu Huahua wasn’t singing, he really was crying.” Ximen Yu’s face was sour.
“That guy, he likes to exaggerate, make things sound more astonishing… Hey! Hold on, there’s another sharp turn up ahead…”
As she said this, Nangong Xue was already pulling a frightening hard blind turn. Ximen Yu was not ready for it and was suddenly lost his center of gravity and actually flung outside the carriage!
His slender frame, like a falling blowing in a violent wind, perilously and helplessly tumbling in midair, suddenly smacking into a towering ancient tree with a trunk big enough for several people to wrap their arms around!
Maybe he hit too hard, and it was too springy, for it whipped Ximen Yu back into the carriage!
He somehow ended up safe and sound beside Nangong Xue.
This Ximen Yu, so robust and agile, such quick to adapt, such quick reflexes, it really made one gasp in amazement.
“Sorry, my skills need some work, you’re okay, right?… Oh!… You…”
Nangong Xue’s eyes widened and she slammed on the brakes, the brakes screeching, almost loud enough to bust one’s eardrums.
Ximen Yu wasn’t expecting her to slam on the brakes, and he grabbed onto the wooden seat, adn with a pallid face cried, “Go easy I beg you. You’re gonna scare me to death sooner or later, driving like that!”
“You!” Nangong Xue stared at him, astounded. “Did you just fall out and jump back in?”
“Yeah,” Ximen Yu said hesitating, catching his his breath. “If it had been anyone else, they’d probably be King Yama’s gues of honor right now. Good thing it was me…”
“Didn’t I seal your acupoints?” Nangong Xue’s beautiful eyes were big and round, so cute.
“Oh.” Ximen Yu suddenly smiled at her mysteriously. “I forgot to tell you, I’m just like that brat, Liu Huahua, I’ve learned the ‘Acupoint Shifting Method’…”
“You…” Nangong Xue was dumbstruck.
“What?” Ximen Yu gave and easy shrug. “Is Liu Huahua the only guy in the world who can learn the ‘Acupoint Shifting Method’?”
“Since you already learned it,” Nangong Xue said, glaring at him, “why did you pretend to be subdued?”
Ximen Yu said, “If I didn’t, how would you be able to abscond so smoothly with Peng Xiaomei?”
Nangong Xue gave him the side-eye. “So you were helping me all along…”
“Couldn’t be helped.” Ximen Yu laughed. “We’re friends.”
He paused, then looked at her. “In order for the Kongs not to see through it, of course I had to pretend that you had sealed my acupoints. Was there something better I could have done to pull this off?”
Nangong Xue shook her head and sighed. “Turns out your scheming is as profound as your swordplay…”
Ximen Yu laughed.
Nangong Xue suddenly said, “Get down off the carriage.”
“Get down?” Ximen Yu was struck dumb. “You’re kicking me off?”
“Not kicking you off, I’m asking.” Nangong Xue’s face was expressionless. “Asking you to get down off the carriage.”
“Isn’t that the same as kicking me off?” Ximen Yu looked at her, puzzled.
“Kicking you off, asing you to get down, anyway just get off!” Nangong Xue looked at him askance.
“Why?”
“You should know why.” She brushed back her hair blown out of place by the night breeze. “I only want subdued you to stop the Kongs, give them something to worry about so they wouldn’t chase us and not cause a disturbance. Now, since your acupoints were never blocked, what point is there for you to stick around here?”
Ximen Yu said, “Very few people among the martial world know that I’ve learned the ‘Acupoint Shifting Method’. No one in the Kong family knows, including the patriarch. If you drive me away, won’t that cease having any reason to worry and so will come after you full force?”
He paused, giving her a hard look, and slowly said, “If you’re smart you shouldn’t kick me off.”
“No,” Nangong Xue returned the hard look. “If you’re smart, you shouldn’t help me anymore, or else sooner or later your relationship with the Kongs will be ruined and it will turn to enmity. Is it worth it?”
Ximen Yu didn’t answer.
He couldn’t answer.
Because as soon as she finished speaking, Nangong Xue took him by surprise and shoved him off!
Ximen Yu was not ready at all for that, he simply never imagined she would do that. By the time he was on his guard he was already on the ground!
He sprang back up, but Nangong Xue had already cracked the whip and called to the horse and was already driving away at a gallop!
“Wait for me! Nangong Xue!” Ximen Yu hollered, speeding after her like a roving dragon.
When he was about to grab onto the carriage door, Nangong Xue turned and snapped her whip at him.
The whip came on so powerful and fast, whoever it hit would have split skin for sure!
Ximen Yu had no choice but to dodge.
By dodging, he was now unable to catch up with the carriage.
But he still unwilling to give up and continued on after the carriage, yelling, “Nangong Xue, why won’t you let me help you?”
Nangong Xue didn’t answer, she just brandished her whip for all she was worth, the four carriage wheels seeming to leave the ground, fast as an arrow loosed from the bowstring!
“Nangong Xue, you hate me don’t you?” Ximen Yu’s voice called out after her.
Nangong Xue grit her teeth and snapped the whip faster.
“Am I really so hateful?” Ximen Yu’s voice was getting more and more urgent and more and more distant. “Answer me, Nangong Xue, am I hateful?”
Nangong Xue didn’t want to answer, but she couldn’t help turning around to say, “It’s not that I hate you, I just don’t want to get you involved!”
“Really?”
“Really!”
“Nangong Xue,” Ximen Yu’s voice was even more distant now, but Nangong Xue could still hear him clearly, “do you know that Meng Xiyue was wrong to say your nose was the most beautiful, your eyes… Has anyone ever told you your crescent moon-like eyes are the most enchanting little eyes in the world!”
Ximen Yu had stopped running because he knew he couldn’t catch up with her.
His face was drenched in sweat and he was panting as he watched the carriage get farther and farther away. His disappointment was like that roiling cloud of dust, growing larger the more it roiled…
Suddenly, he was startled with a jolt!
Because he clearly heard Nangong Xue’s distant, yet oh so sweet voice on the wind, “Ximen Yu, do you know in what way Liu Huahua is not as good as you?”
“What way?”
“You have a beautiful beard, he doesn’t!” And Nangong Xue and the carriage were gone out of sight.
Ximen Yu sat in the middle of the road panting, rubbing his thick black yet neatly trimmed curly beard…
Having gotten rid of Meng Xiye and Ximen Yu, Nangong Xue drove the carriage carrying Peng Xiaomei by herself straight for Eighteen-Point Mountain.
She had done that only because she didn’t want to get them involved.
Because neither Meng Xiye nor Ximen Yu could be permitted to help Peng Xiaomei.
Or else they would come to some degree of harm—Meng Xiye would be hard pressed to explain things to his father, and Ximen Yu would certainly not be able to face the Kongs.
Why did the two of them want to help Nangong Xue?
Nangong Xue knew she was no longer a child, and of course she knew it was because they adored her.
Nangong Xue also knew—both Meng Xiye and Ximen Yu were men that women liked.
At least, Nangong Xue didn’t hate them; in fact she quite liked them.
—Nangong Xue was no longer the Nanong Xue of before. At the very least she was beginning to understand that that kind of a man was worth a woman’s liking.
Especially Meng Xiye and Ximen Yu, who helped her heedless of everything. To say that Nangong Xue wasn’t touched would be false.
After all, she was a feeling, flesh and blood woman.
So she didn’t want to get them involved.
So she decided to help Peng Xiaomei by herself.
Even so, in doing so, as Ximen Yu had said, she would implicate Qian Laiye. Did she not care about him?
It wasn’t that. She had already considered the pros and cons of this part.
She believed neither the Kongs or the Dis would ever dare rashly attack the Golden God of Wealth gambling den, and it wasn’t just because the gambling den was powerful in its own right. Mostly it was because everyone knew that the unparalleled Foppish Young Master of the jianghu was Qian Laiye’s disciple—everyone knew that the “Foppish Young Master” Liu Huahua was not only a strong martial artists of the jianghu, he also got on well with others, in particular Shaolin and Wudang, as well as the currently most powerful “Soaring Hawk Fort”, with whom he had a particular close relationship.
No one would want to clash with someone who had such a large backing unless they had no choice.
The Kongs and the Dis ought to be no exception.
Besides, their target was Peng Xiaomei. Wouldn’t it be really dumb to hastily clash with Qian Laiye and offended Liu Huahua? Especially since they wouldn’t necessarily be able to win, and if they turned their spearpoints to Golden God of Wealth, it would be tantamount to turning the small foe Peng Xiaomei into an enormous enemy. There was probably no one in the world stupid enough to do that.
—People of the jianghu were shrewd nowadays, shrewd enough that even ghosts would have to think twice. It’s not that there weren’t any jianghu personages who had “fool’s luck”, but you’d probably have to go to the graveyard to find them.
—The jianghu, the treacherous, fickle, complex jianghu was ever a “shrewd man’s” world. The so-called “simplemindedly honest man”, the “foolishly lucky”, the “upright gentlemen not given to flattery”, and even the “Great and Lesser Xias” were pushed aside and trampled over!
They even found it hard to find a place to stand! (Just flip through history, which dynasty’s founding sovereign wasn’t a ruthless schemer? Which dynasty’s final sovereign wasn’t upright and stupid?)
Our elders often remonstrate, admonish, and warn us: refrain from harming others, but guard against others trying to harm you.
That’s of course an accurate statement.
However, how should one guard against others?
If you’re not a bit shrewd, how can you guard against those who wish to harm you?
—People ought to practice “compassion, duty, propriety, and integrity”. But if you only rely on these virtues, sorry, no matter what harm befalls you, even if you are at death’s door, be sure not to call out stuff like “Heaven has forsaken me” or “What did I do in a past life to deserve this”; you’ll only have yourself to blame—stupid!
Nangong Xue wasn’t stupid.
Not only was she naturally smart and more perceptive than most, the pain and suffering she had gone through made her grow up quickly. Especially ever since she made her debut in the jianghu and went through the “Silver Sword Incident”, “Apricot Incident”, “Awful Sadness Incident”, “Eminent Oblivious to Buddha Monk Incident”, “Sixth Crown Prince of India Incident”, “Meng Dongye Incident”, “Xu Tianjiao Incident”, “Butterfly Craves Flowers Incident”, “Qian Laiye Incident”, and now the currently happening “Peng Xiaomei Incident” not only gave her a lot of real fighting experience, her martial arts progressing to the next level, it also greatly improved her thinking and judgment, object analysis ability!
So she quickly concluded that Qian Laiye wouldn’t have any trouble.
She didn’t share Ximen Yu’s view.
She even believed this was just Ximen Yu’s ruse to convince her to give up helping Peng Xiaomei.
In fact, even if Qian Laiye were to get mixed up in all this, she didn’t think she would become an “unfilial daughter”—she owed a debt of gratitude to Peng Xiaomei for saving her from the awful nightmare of being raped by Little Marquis Di, and Nangong Xue paid her debts. Even if Qian Laiye didn’t praise her, why would he accuse her of being unfilial?
Qian Laiye was reasonable and broadminded—if not, why would Nangong Xue have acknowledged him as her father?
Therefore, Nangong Xue would never abandon her plan to help Peng Xiaomei.
—Unless she were dead!
It’s a bit farther on foot from Calm Mind Lake to Eighteen-Point Mountain, but as fast as Nangong Xue’s carriage was racing, it would take no more than half a double-hour to get there.
But because she didn’t want Meng Xiye getting involved, once he went to rent a carriage, she went down a side road.
Taking a side road would nartually make the journey farther than taking the straight, main road; and it also wasn’t as easy going.
Now, the road Nangong Xue was on was not only getting bumpier and bumpier, it was also getting more and more narrow.
It was only wide enough for one horse and carriage to pass through.
Such a road of course was not suitable for fast driving.
Nanggong Xue slowed down.
She had to slow down.
But it was still “fast” for this sort of road.
Even a three-year-old knew that driving too fast was dangerous and not to be encouraged.
Nangong Xue was not a three-year-old, she obviously knew this as well.
But she also knew that if she didn’t get to Eighteen-Point Mountain in a hurry and help Peng Xiaomei “clean out” those “Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain” scumbags, then the delay might cause more problems down the road.
She was burning with impatience.
She had always been a very impatient woman.
So she was “speeding” down the road.
There’s a saying: fast is slow, slow is fast.
Didn’t seem to make a lot of sense.
Actually, it meant “haste makes waste”.
Was this saying accurate?
It seemed not without merit—because as Nangong Xue was wanting to go ever faster, it finally led to a “big accident”.
* * * * *
Maybe it had something to do with her driving skill, for when she approached a particularly steep gradient she didn’t know to reduce her speed, and when taking a particularly sharp turn she sped up!
She made it around the bend.
But she didn’t expect when she came out the turn to see to meet a luxurious carriage head on!
The oncoming carriage was just coming up the grade so it was naturally not going fast, and the driver seemed a seasoned, steady hand. When they met at the bend, he did all he could to get over to the side, but who would have epxpected there was someone like Nangong Xue in the world who drove like she was racing to fight a fire or rushing home to attend a funeral; there was no time to get out of the way and the carriages collided right into each other with a loud bang!
Horse neighed and carriages split open!
People went flying!
The scene was a sight to behold.
* * * * *
Nangong Xue’s lithe and graceful body somersaulted through the air like a tumbling bottle gourd, but in the end ended up more scared than hurt as she safely drifted down to the ground, averting disaster.
Not just her, but the other driver was clearly a martial arts adept as well, quiet skilled, as he alertly sprang up at the moment of collision and leapt for all he was worth toward the side of the road and managed to escape by a hair’s breadth.
There was another, a finely dressed man who had been sitting in the sumptuous carriage. His skill was even greater. Just as the carriage was split open upon impact, he leapt out of the way at an angle, seemingly calm and unhurried and did a few beautiful somersaults in the air before touching down on the ground with nary a scracth.
Incredible!
Too bad Nangong was in no mood to appreciate it and had no time to cheer, because she realized that no one had jumped out of her own carriage.
Peng Xiaomei?
Nangong Xue rushed back, anxiously calling out, “Peng Xiaomei, are you okay?”
The wrecked carriage was still and silent.
“Peng Xiaomei! Peng Xiaomei!” Nangong Xue was so worried she was about to cry as she hurriedly pulled open the busted carriage door that was on its side and saw everything inside was in disarray, but it was empty, Peng Xiaomei was nowhere in sight!
Nangong Xue wa stunned on the spot.
Where was Peng Xiaomei?
Had she been thrown out of the carriage at the moment of impact?
She didn’t got look. She couldn’t.
Because the furious-faced driver had come over with a finger pointing at the tip of Nangong Xue’s nose and was letting loose a torrent of abuse, “Fuckin’ hell! I,Li Daniu, have been driving carriages for decades, and what I’ve always feared most is women drivers, slow as shit, like a snail crawling along, but this is the first time in my life I’ve run into one like you, driving like you don’t care about living, like you were flying! Hey, lousy woman, fuck, did a family member die or did your house catch on fire…”
“Sorry.” Nangong Xue hated loud, boorish people, especially men who looked down on women. Her previous self would have smacked him right off for that, but the current Nangong Xue had a much better temper, plus she knew this was her fault, so not only did she not get angry, she took Li Daniu’s abuse and instead put on a smiling face and in an appropriately low voice, calmly said, “Uncle, please don’t be angry, it was all my fault. I will certainly pay for whatever loss you’ve incurred; I won’t shirk my responsibility.”
After a pause, she continued wit a smile, “Sorry, please allow me to look for my friend first. She was inside the carriage…”
Some say that most professional carriage drivers have bad tempers. Of course that’s an exaggeration, but it was not in the least bit hyperbole when it came to Li Daniu. He seemed to not only be hot-tempered, his was particularly blazing. He rolled up his sleeves in a towering rage and opened his big mouth and nearly flung spittle on Nangong Xue’s face, “Shit, filthy lass, what good is sorry? You undisciplined filthy lass in need of a good spanking, you think some stinkin’ money means you can just do whatever you want? Let me tell you, if your old man here hadn’t had quick reflexes, I’d be dead right now. If it had been someone else your carriage wheels would have rendered him a ghost! Can you compensate for a death? Can you?”
Wow, this bro was not only let loose a string of offensive curses, he even called her a “filthy lass in need of a good spanking”!
What a “cussing expert”. A lowdown, vulgar “cussing expert”.
Nangong Xue hated that kind of person the most.
No matter who it was, even His Royal Majesty himself, if he dared talk to her with such coarse, foul language, Nangong Xue would definitely use the most direct and efficient method to make him shut up—a sword stab through his big mouth, then he’d never let out so much as a fart again in his life!
But, this time she didn’t do that.
Had she really changed?
No, no matter how a person changes, there is always a limit. Nangong Xue had changed a lot, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a personality or a temper—if a person lost their temperament and their personality, could they still be considered human? A clay bodhisattva was still three parts clay, much less her, a person. Of course Nangong Xue was not about to take this guy’s foul, obscene language, not for a minute!
So then why didn’t she stab to death this Liu Daniu?
Because she didn’t even hear his abuse—Nangong Xue was distracted by worry over Peng Xiaomei’s safety. She was worried that because Peng Xiaomei had not recovered from her recent injury, she would not be slower getting around and maybe would not have been able to react in time to save herself at the moment of impact. She believed Peng Xiaomei must have been thrown out of the carriage by the violent collision! So she was burning with anxiety. She had her head down, scanning the wheel tracks and hoofprints looking for sign, so how could she have had time to pay attention to Li Daniu?
The scene of the accident was a mess. Aside from the splintered carriages, several of the horses pulling the carriages had been pitifully killed on the spot by the collision, flesh and blood sent flying. It was too horrible to look at; especially one that though bathed in blood, lay sprawled out on the ground, dying, convulsing in pain and letting out heartrending wails…
A horrible carriage accident!
And all the blame was on Nangong Xue, the accident was brought about by her hands.
No excuses could get her out of bearing the blame!
“Peng Xiaomei, Peng Xiaomei…” Nangong Xue sifted through the carriage debris and searched around the scene of the accident and along the road, but there was no sign of Peng Xiaomei, and her heart dropped like a stone and tears welled up in her self-reproachful and fear-stricken eyes…
Of course she wasn’t going to let it go at that. She kept on searching, face stained with tears…
The furious Li Daniu’s rage was dampened by the sight of her desperate and crying. Probably he also remembered that he ought to go check on the finely-dressed man by the side of the road who up to this point had not uttered a sound…
The finely-dressed man looked about the same age as Li daniu, around thirty or forty though much shorter, but his dress and visage was much more noble and staid than Li Daniu. The precious sword at his hip alone, with its scabbard studded with sapphires the size of dragon eyes, splendidly scintillating under the bright, clear moonlight, dazzling the eyes, was who knows how many times more lordly and priceless than the goosefeather sabre hanging from Li Daniu’s waist.
After drifting to the ground he was at first shocked and angry, until he realized he and Li Daniu were unharmed, then his expression relaxed a bit. Then he was surprised to see the driver of the other carriage was a beautiful young woman. He had evidently never seen a woman who drived so crazily before, so all this time he had been regarding Nangong Xue with a look of curiosity. He also clearly had no intention of stopping Li Daniu from cussing out Nangong Xue—whether because he believed she deserved it or wanted to see how a woman who liked to drive fast would handle the situation?
So stood to the side of the road with his hands clasped behind his back, the moonlight shining on him a debonair, aloof air…
“Master,” Li Daniu was a rough talker but was deferential toward him, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” The finely-dressed man merely gave a slight shake of his head, eyes still resting on Nangong Xue, who was still searching through the wreckage.
“What a mess!” Though Li Daniu’s talk was loud and rough, yet he had a look like he’d just realized something; probably because he was watching Nangong Xue searching for some “lost article”, he suddenly had a thought and said, “Master, I fear that priceless ‘Child-bringing Guanyin’ jade figurine that was in the carriage…”
His face paled and he went search the carriage…
The finely-dressed man didn’t move. His eyes were stayed fixed on Nangong Xue.
As if he firmly believed that no matter what happend, the “Child-bringing Guanyin” jade figurine would have been spared by the accident was shattered beyond saving so there was no point worrying about it.
And perhaps, even if the Guanyin figurine was just fine, it was nothing compared to “the fast-driving woman” Nangong Xue in being able to capture his attention…
* * * * *
Nangong Xue din’t find Peng Xiaomei, but she was smiling through tears as she held up a broken piece of the carriage siding she had found. On it in a hasty scribble etching obviously done with the tip of a sword were the words—
Nangong Xue:
Forfive me for not bidding farewell, I don’t want to implicate you any further.
Peng Xiaomei
Turns out Peng Xiaomei had not even been in the carriage.
She wasn’t dead.
Nangong Xue was so happy she cried out.
* * * * *
Li Daniu also cried out.
But he was crying out in anger.
He took several big strides over to her and thrust the shattered pieces in his hands in her face, nearly hitting Nangong Xue’s nose, and in a voice loud enough to nearly shatter her eardrums, yelled, “Fuck, unruly woman, look at this! A precious jade ‘Child-bearing Guanyin’ figurine of the highest quality, now a ‘Headless Guanyin’ all in pieces thanks to you, only these few fragments remaining…”
“Sorry.” Nangong Xue knew it was her fault, so she put on a smile and said apologetically, “It was my fault, I should take full responsibility. I’ll compensate you for the loss…”
“Compensate?” Li Daniu clenched his teeth and roared, “Compensate how! Do you know what dynasty that jade Guanyin is from? Can you compensate for that?”
Of course Nangong Xue didn’t know what dynasty the jade Guanyin was from because she only saw a few shattered fragments of it; but evr since becoming the “Ninth Princess” of the Qian family, she had received countless precious pearls, gemstones, kingfisher feathers, agate, and all sorts of other rare stones and gems from not just her father Qian Liaye, but also from her nine mothers, twenty-three big brothers, eight big sisters, and her aunts and uncles as welcoming gifts. So Nangong Xue had a certain level of appreciation for jade, and she could see that the jade fragments in Li Daniu’s hands were of superior jade, absolutely not something an ordinary person would be able to afford…
“Let me tell you!” Li Daniu not only talked loud but incredibly rapidly, especially when he was raging, simply rapid-fire, spittle flying everywhere, “This Child-bearing Guanyin was from the Three Kingdoms period, when illustrious hero Zhuge Liang spared no effort in routing Cao Cao’s forces at the Battle of Red Cliffs to snatch this item so he could get the two peerless Qiao beauties. Can you compensate for that?”
Three Kingdoms period? Wow, was that over a thousand years ago? Wasn’t this awful? According to what Li Daniu said, that jade Guanyin was not only very old, it was had also been passed down from the hands of a legendary historical figure. This was no joke, even an idiot would know its valuable enough to scare one to death!
The question was, was this jade Guanyin really the one passed down from Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms period?
Of course Nangong Xue wasn’t sure.
—Actually, the jade Guanyin was shattered. Even if Li Daniu claimed it was a love token from the cowherd to the weaver girl, what would Nangong Xue be able to do?
But Nangong Xue still said, “Uncle, Zhuge Liang married a virtuous, homely woman, how could he have anything to do with the two Qiao sisters? They ought to have been with Zhou Gongjin, Zhou Yu…”
“What the hell do you know?” Li Daniu cut her off sharply. “Zhuge Liang was jilted and married that ugly lady in anger, did you know that?”
Nangong Xue gave a wry smile.
She didn’t know if Zhuge Liang had really ever went after the two Qiaos; at any rate, Chinese history had been distorted to the point of myth—and mythology’s greatest function was making you into an idiot; whatever he said you had to listen to, and if you so much as showed any doubt, alright, then immediately “treason and heresy”, “harmful mentality” and other unwarranted charges were dumped on your head and heaped on you till you couldn’t breathe or even fart!
“The way of the sages” also taught you “absolute devotion”, “absoulte filiality”, and “absolute humaneness”, or else in your parents’ and elders’ eyes you were not a “well-behaved, obedient child”!
—Chinese people became more and more “well-behaved” with each generation until finally they are so “well-behaved” that it leads to the nation destroyed and its people annihilated!
Every day the sages are not dead, Chinese people get one day closer to the danger of this “national destruction”!
Foreigners criticize Chinese people as being “dolls” who can’t think for themselves!
Foreigners’ words are so hateful!
But, it’s absolutely true! Drawing blood with one prick!3
Nangong Xue was no “doll”, she could see that Li Daniu was looking to take advantage of this opportunity to blackmail her, so she smiled icily. “I don’t care if your thing really came from Zhuge Liang or ‘Jew Ge Niang’. In any case, this accident was caused by me, I have no excuses, I’m willing to pay for the damages…”4
“Little girl,” Li Daniu used his eyes to take aim on her, and he hmphed, “By the looks of you I can tell you’re the precious daughter of a rich family. You think money can get you out of everything?”
“Of course money isn’t all-powerful, of course it can’t resolve everything.” Once Nangong Xue learned that Peng Xiaomei was safe and sound, she naturally relaxed a lot. She shrugged, free and easy, and said evenly, “But money without a doubt is the most practical and most useful thing in the world, especially in a situation like this. Is there some other better way for me to deal with this besides using money to compensate you?”
Li Daniu, either because he was really angry that Nangong Xue had not brought her eyes with her when she went driving a carriage, or if he just thought she would be easy to bully, but he went so far as to say, “Shit, woman in need of a good spanking, you think you have some stinking money means you can just go around recklessly doing whatever you want? You’re not the only person in the world who has money, your Big Daddy here also has money. So then can I strip your clothes off and spank you 300 times then give you money…”
Li Daniu only got half of what he wanted to say out.
The other half that never came out was forcibly swallowed, he had to—because Nangong Xue had already slapped him in the face.
WHAP!
Nangong Xue struck ruthlessly and quickly and accurately. Li Daniu only saw the afterimage of her hand and then there was a sudden hot sting on his cheek, having eaten that solid smack upside the head!
“Aiyo!”
Li Daniu never expected that Nangong Xue would suddenly haul off and hit her, he was completely unprepared and was thrown off balance by her slap, and he staggered back three large steps, nearly falling flat on his back!
Despite this, he was hit so hard that teeth and blood went flying!
He was shocked and furious! “Loathsome bitch, you really dared to hurt someone!” As he roared he balled his hands into fists the size of huge bowls and with a cry he struck hard at the side of Nangong Xue’s head!
The punch was methodical, a Shaolin move passed down to outsiders called “Crouching Tiger Diamond Fist”.
Just too bad it couldn’t subdue Nangong Xue, the tigress—she just sneered and didn’t even flinch, her beautiful slender leg suddenly cunningly spun around in a sidekick and Li Daniu’s charging self was suddenly rebounded back, landing headfirst on a dead horse laying in the road.
Several horses had collided and died together, blood and flesh everywhere where La Daniu landed. By the time he struggled to his feet he had become “Bloody Li Daniu”!
Nangong Xue didn’t look at him, she couldn’t be bothered to pay any more attention to that kind of person. Her temper really had changed a lot. Before, ten Li Daniu’s would have become “Dead Li Danius”! She looked over at the finely-dressed man off to the side who up to now had not spoken, as if he were watching a show. “Hey friend, I take full responsibility for this accident. I’ve already apologized and have indicated that I will pay for the damages. What do you think?”
The finely-dressed man didn’t answer, because Li Daniu had already stood up, covered in horse blood, a horrible sight; he clearly was in the mood for blood as a knife was suddenly unsheathed and he roared crazily, like a murderous spirit or malevolent ghost, and slashed at Nangong Xue’s chest!
Nangong Xue flew into a rage!
She had already forced herself to go easy on Li Daniu, but he unexpectedly and recklessly pulled this thing out, so of course she wasn’t going to be polite anymore—she had used up all her politeness, and too much of that was weakness and would just lead to getting bullied—although she had changed a lot in how she thought, her belief that “the weak are prey to the strong” was still something she would never change; she was ready to draw her sword and meet the enemy!
Once she drew her sword, Li Daniu would certainly become a dead ox at once5—she wasn’t arrogant, she just already knew that Li Daniu’s martial arts was much inferior to hers, killing him would be as easy as butchering an ox.
What made her so mad she couldn’t stand it was that as Li Daniu charged at her, he still didn’t forget to curse those same words, “Slut in need of a good spanking, your Big Daddy doesn’t believe you’re anything special, your old man here is gonna strip your clothes off and give you 300 spankings!”
Such nasty language really came out of his mouth!
Nangong Xue decided to sent him to back to Heaven with one sword stroke!
She was already gripping the hilt of her sword.
END CHAPTER 1
Chapter 2: Sheep in the Leopard’s Mouth, So So Dangerous!
Part 1
In the end, Nangong Xue didn’t draw her sword.
Because as her slender fingers touched her waist, the finely dressed man suddenly called out, “Daniu, stop!”
Li Daniu really did stop.
But, the finely dressed man wasn’t about to stop. He suddenly zipped over like an arrow shot toward Li Daniu and slapped him full in the face and knocked him flat on his butt!
“Daniu, you’re becomming more and more ill-mannered, what am I gonna do with you?” The finely dressed man was beside himself with anger, shouting, “And you’re more and more forgetting your place. This lady has gone easy on you again, yet you recklessly pull a knife and go at her, I think you’re tired of living!”
As he scolded him he gave Li daniu a couple swift kicks for his trouble, nearly knocking him out…
Though Li Daniu had a violent temper, but he was quite modest toward the finely dressed man, not so much as letting out a fart as he bore the pain and got to his feet. He hung his head and didn’t even wipe the blood off his mouth…
“Miss, please calm down,” the finely dressed man said. He turned to the angry-looking Nangong Xue and bowed with a hand cupped over his fist. He put on a smile and said, “I’m Yu Youfang. I’ve been remiss in instructing my servants and have offended the lady. A great man does not remember the offenses of the lowly, I implore Miss to let bygones be bygones and be lenient…”
Nangong Xue didn’t much care for people who spoke in a genteel manner, but anyway it was a lot better than talking with a foul mouth, so she forced a smile and hmphed, “Forget abiut it, nowadays rampaging rabid dogs are a common occurrence. Besides, it was my fault to start with, wrecking your horse and carriage…”
She paused, then she heaved a slow sigh and said coldly, “Let’s dispense with the pointless talk. A life must be paid for with a life, and one’s damaged property must be compensated with cash in line with the principles of heaven and earth. Please tell me, how much do you want me to pay?”
Yu Youfang seemed a rather generous sort, responding right away, “Forget about it, everyone has good and bad fortune. A collision is the fault of both sides, one palm alone can’t clap. If we really get down to it, I ought to shoulder a bit of the responsibility as well…”
“No no,” Nangong Xue said. She never imagined he would be so good-natured, which made her feel surprisingly unsettled. “This matter is all my fault, I should take full responsibility…”
“The carriages are wrecked but the people are safe, a stroke of good luck in a sretch of bad, why talk about compensation?” Yu Youfang was smiling. “Besides, my no-good servant spoke insultingly and was rude to you, Miss, which was totally uncalled for… I see that the lady is of the martial world, why ought men and women of the jianghu make a fuss over minor matters?”
Nangong Xue was really surprised, she never imagined in a million years that such an awful servant like Li Daniu would have such a magnanimous master. She was actually stunned for a moment, then stammered, “Uh… is that really alright…”
“Never mind,” Yu Youfang said, “a carriage and a few horses aren’t worth that much, it’s not worth mentioning.”
“I can tell that your carriage was brand new, and your horses were the of the best stock from beyond the pass.” Nangong Xue also had some skill in appraising horse and carriage; she knew that Yu Youfang’s livery was not something an ordinary person could afford. Very apologetically she said, “Plus there’s that jade ‘Child-bearing Guanyin figurine from the Three Kingdoms period…”
“Who kmows if that really was authentic?” Yu Youfang cut in. “Nowadays authentic and fake are hard to discern; the authentic ones aren’t as good as the fakes, and the fakes are just as good as the real ones. Anyway that thing was given to me by a friend. Since it’s busted now, let’s just pretend my friend never gave it to me, wouldn’t that be alright?”
“You can’t say that.” Nangong Xue responded to persuasion but not force, the more polite someone was the more awkward she felt, and she hurriedly said, “Still, please, Sir, name a price so I can repay the debt, otherwise I won’t feel right…”
“I don’t know how much money it’s worth; curios like that you can say are priceless or not worth anything at all.” Yu Youfang smiled thinly. “Actually, I just pose as a lover of culture. Forget about, don’t mention it; money goes but the people are safe. The most important thing is that no one was hurt. Miss, given your agility, seems we’re all men and women of the jianghu, why quibble over trifles and be so diffident?”
Nangong Xue was really not a diffident person, and she was touched at how large-minded Yu Youfang was. With a smile she said, “Young Master Yu is really large-minded. Let me first respectfully apologize. If your esteemed presence ever finds itself out by Calm Mind Lake, I, Nangong Xue, will have a seat waiting for you and welcome you wholeheartedly…”
“Nangong Xue?” Yu Youfang’s tiger eyes widened slightly, surprised. “So it turns out Miss is the heroine among women, famed throughout the jianghu recently, Nangong Xue?”
Silent off to the side, with hostility still in his eyes, Li Daniu blurted out in alarm, “So you’re the ‘Lady Yama’ Nangong Xue?”
Yu Youfang suddenly chuckled.
Nangong Xue looked at him, puzzled. She didn’t know what he was laughing at.
“Miss Nangong,” Yu Youfang said with a smile, “I’ve long heard your illustrious name. I always thought ‘Lady Yama’ would be a demonic, fiendish female yaksha, but now that I meet you I know jianghu hearsay is really unreliable!”
Nangong Xue was all smiles.
She was no longer surprised by this kind of reaction. Ever since she started getting famous there had been many curious individuals who had come to Calm Mind Lake to see what she was really like, and nine out of ten of them had a “beyond one’s expectations” reaction.
Especially the current Nangong Xue, whose inner self-cultivation had improved a lot, and her outer appearance had improved a lot as well—in fact, she was now a very “womanly” woman. No one could believe there could be such an enchanting “Lady Yama”.
—Womanhood does not lie in outer beauty or ugliness; most important is whether she has that “flavor”.
What is “womanly flavor”?
That depends on a man’s “ability to appreciate” (of course we’re talking about his ability to appreciate women”. There is not an exact standard, people vary and have different tastes, “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”. But, as for Yu Youfang, he seemed to really sppreciate Nangong Xue’s good looks, at least he had no intention of hiding the admiration in his eyes. “Nangong Xue, what a Nangong Xue, I, Yu Youfang, what good fortune I have to make your acquaintance today, Miss… A lucky collision! So lucky…”
Nangong Xue received his gaze and knew why he was being so courteous in not demanding her pay for the damages. It was all because she was a woman—a quite good-looking woman.
—In this world, the prettier a woman is the more well-liked she is. Even if she messes up, it’s easier for her win “forgiveness”, especially a man’s “forgiveness”.
A man’s true “color”6—he’d rather have a beautiful woman than have power over a state!
So some said that “woman are a disastrous flood”.7
Were women a disastrous flood?
Lust does not blind, one blinds oneself.
—Rather than say that women are a flood of disaster, why not say men are the “root of disaster” (root?) to be more precise?
(One wonders what the “root” in the Buddhist “six roots and their purification refers to?)8
(To be honest, no matter how boundless “Buddhist doctrine” is, it’s no match for the effectiveness of the emperor’s edict—to castrate that “root” and turn you into “one of the eunuchs of China’s find civilization”, then you’ll be “purified”!)
Yu Youfang wasn’t a eunuch.
So the admiration in his eyes actually contained a certain degree of “lust”.
If Nangong Xue had encountered such a man in the past, at best she would have taken him for a rapid dog and steered clear of him; at worst she would have went up and smacked him upside the head, maybe add a swift kick as gratuity.
But after having gone through so much, Nangong Xue had not only matured mentally, she also now understood a lot more about “men and women”. At the very least, she knew that “passionate love between man and woman” was right and proper—if not, why were people separated into men and women?
She also knew that:
—As a woman, if no man gave you a second look, then you’d likely fallen to the level of “incomplete woman”.
Nangong Xue was in the full bloom of youth, Heaven’s favored woman. Of course she was “complete woman”, so she didn’t reject or object; one could even say she delighted in seeing the “lustful stares” of men—of course these stares were not brazen or improper, nor did they carry insulting and aggressive lecherous intent, but instead conveyed a “certain degree of entreaty”, but it was just “appreciative” and “admiring” “male look of mutual attraction”.
So Nangong Xue took it in stride and gave Yu Youfang a sweet smile and lightly brushed back her hair. “Young Master Yu, since you’re so generous and understanding, then I, Nangong Xue, will have to humbly accept your courtesy… Excuse me, I have important matters to attend to, please excuse me. Another day…”
“Miss Nangong has urgent matters to attend to?” Yu Youfang interrupted.
“Yes.” Nangong Xue nodded. “If I didn’t have pressing matters at hand I wouldn’t have been driving so fast and gotten into an accident…”
“Pressing matters?” Yu Youfang was clearly very concerned. “Anything I can help with?”
Nangong Xue smiled gratefully, “You’re already helping me a lot by not going after me for the accident…”
Yu Youfang asked, “Oh, right, just now you seemed to be looking for something. Did you find it?”
“I was looking for my friend.” Nangong Xue remembered Peng Xiaomei and was anxious again. She was really worried that Peng Xiaomei had charged by herself to Eighteen-Point Mountain. She would be no match for the “Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain” all by her lonesome. With urgency in her voice, she said, “Sorry, I can’t dawdle any longer, I have to…”
“Friend?” Yu Youfang was surprised. “Your friend is in the carriage? Then…”
“No, she;s no longer inside… She…” Nangong Xue couldn’t explain it in a short amount of time, nor did she feel she needed to explain it. She cupped a hand over her fist. “Sorry, I’ll explain another day when we meet again. I have to go…”
“Wait!”
“What is it?”
“Miss Nangong,” Yu Youfang said cordially, “as the saying goes: from an exchange of blows, friendship grows. If we hadn’t had that collision we never would have met. Since we’ve met, we pretty much friends, and in the jianghu, drawing one’s sabre to come to the aid of another is the true nature of men and women of the jianghu. Miss Nangong, if you don’t regard me as an outsider, or as a show of respect for me, please allow me to lend you a hand…”
“No, no!” Nangong Xue said quickly, “This is no small matter, how could I ask you to go to such trouble, Young Master Yu…”
“Don’t be so formal!” Yu Youfang seemed rather unhappy. “Though I, Yu Youfang, am no big shot among the jianghu, at any rate I have roamed the jianghu and seen some things. Miss Nangong, keeping me at such a long distance, perhaps you really do look down on me?”
Nangong Xue really had never heard of Yu Youfang, but the jianghu was large, what kind of person was not among it? A low-key, unknown person was not necessarily an incapable person. In fact, weren’t a lot of extraordinary and eccentric and heroic people of the jianghu first unknown juniors before they became famous? So Nangong Xue never dared look down on not well-known people. With a smile she quickly put in, “Young Master Yu, you make too much of it. I, Nangong Xue, am just a junior of the jianghu, even if I wanted to look down on someone I wouldn’t be qualified to. You absolutely mustn’t think like that, I am absolutely not that kind of person…”
“I know you aren’t. Word in the jianghu has it that Nangong Xue is more courageous and daring than most men. I have long held you in high regard, so I just wanted to make your acquaintance!” Yu Youfang said, “Now that you take me for a friend, you ought to accept my help, or else you’re really looking down on me!”
Nangong Xue saw he really was speaking in earnest and was struck dumb for a moment. She never imagined there were still those like “great xia” in the jianghu that were so indiscriminate and insisted on the “code of brotherhood”; aside from not knowing whether to laugh or cry, she was also touched. However, she still felt this matter with Peng Xiaomei should not involve others because it really was no small matter, not something an ordinary person could help with. So she politely declined, “Young Master Yu, I appreciate your kindness, but I have to decline; this is truly no small matter, I don’t want to implicat you…”
“Actually,” Yu Youfang said neutrally, “you’ve already implicated me!”
“When did I implicate you?” Nangong Xue was stumped.
Yu Youfang looked earnest. “At the very least you’ve wrecked my brand new carriage and my fine horses, right?”
Nangong Xue was stumped again.
“To speak frankly,” Yu Youfang said, lips pursed, “those fine horses pulling that carriage were also from the Three Kingdoms period and were with Zhuge Liang on his Southern Campain and Northern Expeditions and risked life and limb from birth to death. If you don’t let me know why you were driving so fast to crash into them and kill them, then won’t you be doing them a disservice?”
Nangong Xue snickered. “Good thing you didn’t tell me you are also from the Three Kingdoms period and once helped Zhuge Liang borrow the east wind and burn the Red Cliffs, or I would have been scared to death!”
Yu Youfang laughed loudly.
* * * * *
Part 2
Maybe Nangong Xue couldn’t resist Yu Youfang’s earnestness; maybe she felt that he was a man with a really good sense of humor; maybe… anyway, Nangong Xue had taken a liking to Yu Youfang, so she told him briefly about the “Peng Xiaomei Incident”.
“So now you’re in a hurry to get to Eighteen-Point Mountain to kill the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain?” Yu Youfang asked gravely.
“Yes,” Nangong Xue nodded. “Peng Xiaomei is all alone and recently wounded. I fear she’s no match for the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain.”
After a pause, she continued, “Young Master Yu, I’ve already told you everything. I think you understand now that this is no small matter, not an easy thing for most people to get involved in, don’t you agree?”
“It’s certainly no small matter.” Yu Youfang’s voice was grave. “Helping Peng Xiaomi kill the Ning Leopards of Cold Mountain might not be so difficult, but most people wouldn’t be able to take on the powerful force of the Kong and Di families…”
“So I don’t want to implicate anyone,” Nangong Xue said. “Young Master Yu, I’ve explained everything, so can I go now?”
Saying that, she made to leave…
“Wait!” Yu Youfang said.
Nangong Xue turned and looked at him.
“Why are taking this road to get to Eighteen-Point Mountain?”
Yu Youfang had a strange, thought-provoking look on his face. “Don’t you know how far it is from here to Eighteen-Point Mountain?”
“I know,” Nangong Xue said. “But I didn’t want to get intercepted on the main road by the Kongs, plus I didn’t want the Meng family’s second young master and the the No.2 Sword in the World to get involved, so I took this road…”
“Do you know where the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain are at?”
“Eighteen-Point Mountain.”
“Eighteen-Point Mountain is big, with as many as eighteen entrances. Are they at the summit, or are they staying along the mountainside, or at the foot of the mountain?” Yu Youfang’s eyes twinkled.
Nangong Xue was somewhat stumped. “I don’t know their exact location, but I’m sure I can find it…”
“If,” Yu Youfang said slowly, head lowered, “Peng Xiaomei finds the Nine Leopards before you do, what then?”
“Then that would be terrible!” Nangong Xue’s fair face darkened and she yelled, “I can’t dawdle any longer, I mustn’t be late. Sorry, I really have to go!”
She turned her slender waist and her wonderful body shot off like a twinkling star into the gathering dusk…
* * * * *
Part 3
Nangong Xue was burning with anxiety.
She had to find the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain before Peng Xiaomei did. Or Peng Xiaomei was in trouble.
She opened up her lightness skill to its fullest, very much like a wild, unbridled horse galloping like mad!
Suddenly, she felt someone following her.
She alertly looked back.
It was Yu Youfang!
She stopped at once.
“You…” Once Yu Youfang caught up to her, Nangong Xue looked at him incredulously. “Why are you following me?”
“I said before I wanted to help you.” Yu Youfang has wore a serious look.
“And I said I didn’t want your help,” Nangong Xue said with a wry smile.
Yu Youfang’s lightness skill seemed inferior to Nangong Xue’s, as he was slightly panting. “I may not be able to help you kill the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain or deal with the Kongs, but I can definitely help you with one thing…”
“What thing?”
“I know where the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain are.”
“Really?” Nangong Xue was pleasantly surprised.
“I may be a nobody in the jianghu, but I’ve been out here a long time, I know a thing or two. i once overheard someone mention where the Nine Leopards live, it’s in a secluded place on a ridge…”
“You really are the best!” Nangong Xue said, ecstatic. “Please, hurry up and tell me!”
Yu Youfang smiled thinly. “I’ll take you there myself, won’t that be easier than just telling you?”
“How could I ask you to do that?”
“What choice do I have,” Yu youfang said with a forced smile, “how am I so unlucky to make a friend like you?”
Nangong Xue covered her mouth and giggled.
“I agree to let you helo me.” Nangong Xue’s face turned serious. “But on one condition…”
“What condition?” Yu Youfang narrowed his eyes.
“Once we reach our destination you will turn around and leave at once!”
“Why?”
“Don’t why me, I just don’t want to implicate someone who’s not involved, I’ve already stressed that point.”
“I accept.”
Nangong Xue gave a capitvating smile. “After you!”
* * * * *
Part 4
On the road, Nangong Xue thought of something. “Eh, what about your ox?”
“Ox? What ox?”
“Li Daniu!”
Yu Youfang smiled. “The ox has naturally been put out to pasture to graze. Do you like that ox?”
“Like?” Nangong Xue smiled. “When you beat a dog you have to watch its owner. If not for your sake, Young Master Yu, I might have slaughtered the ox and made beef noodles.”
“So, in order to keep it from offending your eyes, I sent it on ahead into town to wait for me.” Yu Youfang smiled and added, “So you’re really Nangong Xue?”
Nangong Xue was taken aback. “Are there fake Nangong Xues? Is there?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I heard you were a cold, haughty, even vicious and ruthless woman…”
“Yeah, at first I was just that.” Nangong Xue smiled. “You think I’m not?”
“On one point you’re not…”
“What point?”
Yu Youfang became serious. “From what I know, whether a ‘male Yama’ or a ‘female Yama’, they shouldn’t one to crack jokes, right?”
Nangong Xue covered her mouth and giggled.
She realized Yu Youfang was a really witty man.
She suddenly missed someone—that damn Huahua, that “damn man” who teased her all the time till she was crying with laughter.
What was he up to right now?
Was he whispering sweet nothings to Dugu Mei?
“Are you confident you can help Peng Xiaomei kill the Nine Leopards of Cold Mountain?” Yu Youfang said, cutting off Nangong Xue’s train of thought.
“I don’t know.” Nangong Xue narrowed her eyed. “All I know is, regardless of whether or not I can kill the Nine Leopards, I will help Peng Xiaomei!”
At this moment she missed even more that “damned Huahua”—she firmly believed that if he were at her side, they would certainly get this done.
Would he get word and rush to come help her?
That guy came and went like a ghost, and he was always doing unpredictable things. He might already be on his way to Eighteen-Point Mountain!
Nangong Xue also thought of two other people—Meng Xiye and Ximen Yu.
They were both pretty good men.
What were they doing right now?
Nangong Xue was letting her mind run away with her, when suddenly she felt Yu Youfang’s queer look fixed on her.
She turned her head slightly to eye him and he casually averted his eyes…
Nangong Xue unconsciously felt a trace of pleasure rise up—she realized she really was quite a charming woman.
* * * * *
ON INDEFINITE HIATUS
Notes
- An experienced person of the jianghu
- 竹葉青, lit. bamboo leaf green, a kind of clear distilled liquor called baijiu (lit. white/clear liquor), so named because of its yellowish-green color drevied from bamboo leaves, one of the ingredients. It has similar alcohol content as whiskey.
- i.e. hit the nail on the head
- ”Jew Ge Niang” was my feeble attempt at translating the pun. Zhuge Liang is 諸葛亮. The last character, “Liang”, means “bright”. In the original text, Nangong Xue makes a pun on his name: 豬哥諳. The “Zhuge” part is written with different characters. Instead of a compound surname, it is “Pig Brother” 豬哥. This also happens to be the “Zhuge” used by a famous comedian/actor/TV host in Taiwan at the time who went by “Zhuge Liang” but with the “pig brother” spelling. The last charcter in Nangong Xue’s pun is 諳, “An”, which means “dim”, opposite of bright/Liang. Obviously there’s no way to translate this pun adequately, so I went with spelling it weird but with the same pronunciation, except for the “Liang” which I just made rhyme (Niang). Note that Niang could be 娘 which means mother, so it could be Pig Brother’s Mother.
- Another pun I can’t translate without translating his name. Li Daniu is 李大牛, or “Li Big Ox”
- This is another pun that’s hard to translate. The word for “color” here, 色, does mean color, but it also refers to sexual desire.
- i.e. the cause of calamity. “Womean are trouble”.
- The author is using “root” 根 as a euphemism for “penis”. In other words, women don’t cause men trouble, men cause trouble for themselves by thinking with their dick.