I hadn’t planned on translating anything else so soon after finishing my spate of Long Chengfeng translations, but then I remembered the Legend of Nangong Xue series I started a while back and never finished. Back then I was working on the 18th book in the series. Today I am beginning a translation of the 1st book in the series: Treading Blood to Sky’s End《踏血天涯》. I had halted the 18th book because it was getting too talky and I wanted more action. This book starts off with action.

This is also the rare wuxia novel/series with a female protagonist. Not just a a prominent female lead to accompany the male MC. No, she is the MC in this one, Nangong Xue, orphaned daughter of a courtesan now roaming the jianghu seeking to avenge her mother.

I don’t know anything about the author, Fu Hongxue 傅紅雪. The pen name comes from Gu Long’s famous character, but I don’t know if the author is a he, a she? All I know is that beginning with this novel in issue #1429 of Wuxia World Magazine the series ran for 18 books (as far as I have counted; I don’t think I missed any). Fu Hongxue also authored two spinoff stories featuring a side character from the Nangong Xue series, as well a few standalone novels. I can’t find any information about the author otherwise. As far as I know, none of the stories were ever printed in book form.

This project won’t be translated as quickly as the Long Chengfeng ones. I can’t maintain that pace. But I’ve got the first two chapters up aleady.