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 Chapter 2 - Eavesdropping Part IV (Translated by 高毅） |
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高毅
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声望: 学员
性别:  年龄: 44
加入时间: 2011/06/21
文章: 6
海归分: 65
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作者：高毅 在 海归茶馆 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
Last December in Hanzhong, Big Brother thumped Hero Ho and Gallant Hong …”
Monkey Six suddenly let out a chuckle.
With her eyes rolled back, the girl asked: “What’s so funny?”
Monkey Six said with a smile: “I’m laughing at these two’s arrogance. Those people actually named themselves … whatchamacallit … oh yes, ‘Gallant, Hero, Noble and Champ – Greenboro’s Four Elites’. Compare to my much humbler and plainer name - ‘Dayou Lu’, which is better?”
The girl teased: “How is it better? If you don’t happen to be the sixth student in our school, why would we call you Monkey Six?”
Dayou Lu said smilingly: “Fine, starting now, I change my name to ‘Dame Lu’.”
Another man said: “Stop interrupting Second Brother.”
Dayou said: “Ok, ok!” But he followed with some more chuckles.
The girl frowned and said: “Now what? You don’t ever have a serious moment, do you?”
Dayou said with a smile: “I was just thinking about those two guys, Hero Ho and Gallant Hung. When Big Brother’s kicked them off those stairs, they didn’t even know who kicked them, nor why. It turned out that Big Brother was angry at their names, as he drank wine he cried out: ‘Skunk, Bear,
Swine and Rat, Greenboro’s Four Beasts!’ Surely those two got mad and went after Big Brother. Instead they were tossed down a flight of stairs on their butts. Haha, haha!”
Penny was exhilarated when he heard this, a surge of appreciation for this Big Brother arose within him. Although he had never met Hero Ho or Gallant Hung, but knew they were apprentice brothers with Wisdom Fang and Noble Yu. Being kicked downstairs in a restaurant had to be humiliating for them. Finally there was some karma.
The old man continued: “Big Brother beat those two people, who at the time didn’t know who he was. Later they of course found out. So their master Reverend Yu wrote a letter to our master. In it he sounded polite, saying something to the effect that he didn’t teach his students well, and had offended your clan, and he’s writing to apologize.”
Dayou Lu Said: “Yu was as slimy as a snake. He pretended to apologize, but the real intent of his letter was to complain to our master. Big Brother ended up kneeling outside for an entire day. We all pleaded with master until he let him off.”
The girl said: “Let him off? He was caned thirty times!”
Dayou Lu said: “I was with Big Brother, so I also got caned ten times. But it was worth it to witness Hero Ho and Gallan Hung humiliated like that, haha, haha!”
The tall guy said: “Look at yourself, you are not sorry at all! Those ten cane all hit air.”
Dayou said: “Sorry for what? Big Brother wanted to beat them up, could I have stopped him with my kungfu?”
The tall guy said: “You didn’t even try to talk to him. Shifu was right by saying: ‘As for Dayou, no one expects him to put out the fire, more likely than not he’ll add fuel to the flames. Ten canes!’ Haha, haha!”
Everyone joined him in laughter.
Dayou said: “This time Shifu had really wronged me. You can imagine how fast Big Brother was – When those two ‘superheroes’ charged at him from both flanks, Big Brother raised his wine bowl and continued drinking the wine. I cried out: ‘Big Brother, watch out!’ then I heard ‘pow!’ then ‘wham!’, followed by two swooshes, as our ‘superheroes’ rolled down the stairs like two tumble weeds. They must had enjoyed falling like that, or else why wouldn’t they stop? I kept my concentration, trying to learn this ‘Cougar Tail Kick’ from Big Brother, but the move was too fast for me to see clearly, let alone to learn. How could I ‘add fuel to the flames’.”
The tall guy said: “Let me ask you, Monkey Six, as Big Brother was shouting ‘Skunk, Bear, Swine and rat, Greenboro’s Four Beasts’, did you chime in, too? Tell me the truth!”
Dayou said while giggling: “Well, since Big Brother had already the cussing, as the younger apprentice, I was obligated to show, you know, some support. Do you expect me to cuss at Big Brother instead?”
The tall guy said with a smile: “I thought so. Shifu didn’t wrong you at all then.”
Penny thought to himself: “This Monkey Six is a good guy. I wonder which clan do they belong to?”
The old man said: “We should all take to heart the words master said in reprimanding Big Brother: Many Wulinists in Jianghu have nicknames, all are exaggerations, like ‘Oriental Dominator’, or ‘Iron Man’, or ‘Incredible Hulk’ … etc, what they choose to call themselves is not our business.
They wanted to be called ‘heroes and champs’, let them be. If their actions do match up with their names, then they are the friends we all dream to have, so why hold grudges against them? On the other hand, if they are not the kind of people they claim to be, then let others judge them. Why get involved?”
Hearing the old man’s words, all nodded in agreement. Dayou Lu murmured: “My Monkey Six name is better, at least it won’t offend anyone.”
The old man smiled and said: “As for Big Brother kicking Hero Ho and Gallan Hung down two flights of stairs, Greenboro considers it to be a huge embarrassment, they of course would not mention it to anyone, even many of their own apprentices don’t about it. Shifu told us to keep a lid on it, or there would surely be rifts between the two clans. Starting today, let’s not talk about it even amongst ourselves, so that no one could overhear it and spread it far and wide.”
Dayou said: “Speaking of Greenboro’s kungfu, it’s really not what people make it out to be. So what if we offend them…”
The old man cut him off in anger: “Shut up, Brother Six! You better watch your words or I’ll go tell Shifu, who’ll surely give you another ten thrashes. Do you know how Big Brother was able to beat those two people so easily? Let me tell you - First it was a sneak attack; and second, Big Brother is our school’s elite apprentice. You think you’ll be able to do what he did?”
Dayou stuck out his tongue, shook his hands and said: “Don’t compare me to the Big Brother.”
The old man said with a serious tone: “The helmsman of the Greenboro Clan, Reverend Yu, is a superb talent in Wulin. Whoever underestimates him will pay for it. Little Sis, you had seen Reverend Yu, what do you think of him?”
The girl answered: “Reverend Yu? He’s ruthless. He… he scares me. I … I never want to see him again.” Her voice quivered as if she was still under shock.
Dayou said: “Reverend Yu is ruthless? Did you see him killing people?”
The girl’s body shriveled a little, she did not answer.
The old man continued: “Reverend Yu’s letter had made Shifu angry. He gave Big Brother and Dayou harsh punishment. The next day he wrote a reply letter, and asked me to deliver it to Mt. Greenboro …”
Several apprentices cried out: “No wonder that day you left in a hurry, you went to Mt. Greenboro!”
The old man said: “Yes. To not make the situation worse, Shifu ordered me not to tell anyone.”
Dayou Lu asked: “How could you make it worse? Shifu was overly cautious.”
The old man said: “Whatever Shifu tells to us to do, he must have good reasons.”
The tall guy said to Dayou: “What do you know? If you knew about this, you would go tell Big Brother. Big Brother of course would not disobey
Shifu’s orders, but he might find some creative ways to get even with Greenboro, It’s entirely possible.”
The old man said: “Right. Big Brother has many Jianghu friends, if he wants to do something, he doesn’t need to do it himself. Shifu told me that his reply letter was meant to be an apology. In the letter he abhorred what his ill-disciplined disciples had done, he thought about kicking them out of the school, but afraid that might cause gossip about a possible enmity between our two clans. Instead he had these two wicked disciples …”
Saying this, he glanced at Dayou.
Irritated, Dayou said resentfully: “So I am also a wicked disciple?”
The girl said: “You were mentioned in the same sentence as Big Brother, consider it your honor!”
Overjoyed by her words, Dayou shouted: “Right! Right! Wine, bring me wine!”
However the tea house did not serve wine, the tea doctor ran over and said: “Yah man, yah our little shop has only Jasmine, Oolong, Lung Ching, Gunpowder, Pu’er, yah man, we have no wine, yah man.” People around Hengyang and Hengshan often start their sentences with the word “yah”, this tea doctor was especially prone to such habit.
Dayou said: “Yah man, yah shop doesn’t serve wine, yah then I won’t drink wine, yah man.”
The tea doctor said: “Thanks! Thanks! Yah man.” He then refilled their tea kettles with boiling water.
The old man continued: “Shifu said in the letter that he had severely disciplined both disciples. He thought about sending them to Mt. Greenboro to ask for Reverend Yu’s forgiveness, but both sustained severe injuries from the punishment and couldn’t walk, hence he was sending his Second Disciple, Dero Lao to go in their places. This whole matter was caused by his two wicked disciples, he wished for the sake of the deep friendship between Greenboro and Huashan, that Reverend Yu would let the whole matter pass. Next time when they meet, Shifu will personally apologize to Reverend Yu.”
From their conversation, Penny was able to deduce: “The old man’s name is Dero Lao. These people belong to the Huashan Clan, which is part of the Penti-Sierra Alliance. The letter had mentioned ‘deep friendship between Greenboro and Huashan’, it’s not good. Dero Lao and the ugly girl had seen me twice, I wish they won’t recognize me.”
He heard Dero Lao continue: “I arrived at Mt. Greenboro. Hero Ho wasn’t too nasty, but Gallant Hung was really ticked off. Several times he tried to provoke me by made fun of me …”
Dayou said: “Gosh, those Greenboro d-bags are real a-holes! Second Brother, they were asking for it, we can’t back down. This Hung was no match for you.”
Dero said: “Shifu asked me to go to Greenboro to apologize, not to cause troubles. So I tolerated their insults and tried not to react. I waited on Mt. Greenboro for six days, it wasn’t until the seventh day when Reverend Yu finally agreed to see me.”
Dayou said: “Gosh, these stuck-up people! Those six days must be tough.”
Dero said: “Of course. There were plenty of mockery and sarcasm from the Greenboro disciples. Luckily I knew in my heart that the reason Shifu sent me was not because of my kungfu skills, but my age –I am the oldest and the most unflappable one among the disciples. The more prudence I show, the easier I’ll be able to accomplish the mission.
“But they couldn’t have guessed that keeping me in the Mt. Greenboro’s Wind Pine Temple for six more days didn’t do them any good. As I stayed there without seeing Reverend Yu, I naturally got bored, therefore early in the morning on the third day I went out for a walk. I did some breathing exercises, you know, trying not to fall behind on the training. I wandered to the practice field behind the Wind Pine Temple, and saw several dozen Greenboro’s disciples practicing kungfu.
“As you all know, it’s a no-no to observe others practicing kungfu unvited, so I left in a hurry. However with just that one look I had become extremely alarmed. Those disciples were all using swords, apparently they were practicing the same set of sword play; everyone appeared to be a novice, hence their movements were sluggish. As for the exact nature of the sword art - I couldn’t tell with just one glance.
“After getting back to my room, I was more puzzled: The Greenboro Clan has long been established, its many disciples had been with it for decades. Furthermore all the disciples joined at different times, how could that many of them practice the same sword art together? Especially considering those disciples included Hero Ho, Gallan Hung, Noble Yoo and Champ Lo, the so-called ‘Greenboro’s Four Elites’. My fellow brothers and sister, if you saw this, what would you be thinking?”
The abacus man said: “Maybe Greenboro got its hands on a kungfu esoterica of some sorts; or perhaps they were practicing a new sword play created by Reverend Yu himself.”
Dero Lao said: “I thought the same at first. But then I knew I missed something. With Reverend Yu’s attainment in kungfu, any new moves that he came up with must be exceptional and complicated. If they found a lost book or an esoterica, then the art contained in it must also be quite extraordinary, or Reverend Yu wouldn’t care enough to make his disciples practice it. So if they were brilliant moves, then they won’t be easily comprehended by all disciples, most likely he’d pick his top three or four student, and have them study it first. The last thing he’ll do is teaching it to forty people at the same time. They looked as if they were running a diploma mill - tricking people to pay for cheap and quick diplomas, not the way of a great master.
“The next morning I went back to the practice field, again they were practicing the same sword play. I dared not to stop but took a brief look, remembered two moves, so I could come back and ask Shifu about it. At the time Reverend Yu was still shunning me, I had to assume that Greenboro was hostile to Huashan, and that the new sword art was targeted at us, so I must find out as much as possible.”
The tall man said: “Second Brother, could they be practicing a new sword formation?”
Dero Lao said: “Also a possibility. Only those disciples were sparring with one another, attacking and defending with the same moves, it didn’t look to me like a formation.
“On the third morning, once again I walked passed the practice field, but the place was empty, nobody was there. I knew they must be avoiding me, which made me even more worried. Think about it, I only walked by and took a glance from far away, what could I possibly see? It seemed they indeed were practicing a very powerful sword art targeted at our clan, otherwise why were they so paranoid?
”That night, I tossed and turned in bed and couldn’t asleep. Suddenly from far away came faint metal clashing. Startled, I wondered if there were enemies attacking the temple. My first thought was Big Brother, ticked off by Shifu’s punishment, actually came to provoke the entire Greenboro Clan. He was by himself so I had to help him no matter what. I did not bring weapons with me to Mt. Greenboro, not able find any in such short time, I had to go unarmed …”
Dayou praised him: “Bravo, Second Brother! You really got guts! If it was me, I would never confront Reverend Yu with my bare hands.”
Dero scolded him: “What are you talking abou? I didn’t say I confronted Reverend Yu -on with my bare fists, I was only concerned about Big Brother. Knowing the situation was grim, I didn’t have a choice but to go. Why you expect me to hide under my sheet like a coward?” His fellow disciples all laughed as they heard this.
Dayou made a face, then said with a smile: “Take it easy. I was trying to flatter you.”
Dero Lao said: “Thanks, but I don’t need this kind of flattery.”
Several disciples said: “Please go on with your story, Dero. Never mind Monkey Six.”
Dero continued: “So quietly I got up, followed walked towards the direction of the clashing. The close I got, the denser the clashes became. My heart thumped hard, I thought at the time: The two of us are in the lion’s den. Big Brother might be good enough to get away without harm, I on the other hand am in big trouble.
”Hearing the clashes were from the back hall, I saw lights coming out of its windows. Keeping my head low, I quietly closed in. As soon as I peeked inside the hall from one of its windows I sighed in relief, in fact laughed out loud. I turned out to be the paranoid one. Because Reverend Yu had shunned me for all those days, my vivid imagination had been focus on negative scenarios. It was not Big Brother coming for revenge, in the hall I saw four men divided into two teams sparing with each another. One pair consisted of Hero Ho and Gallan Hung; the other Wisdom Fang and Noble Yoo.”
Dayou said: “Hah! Those people work hard, they don’t even sleep! Don’t people have a saying for this - ‘Sharping one’s sword on the way to the battle’? It’s kind of late, don’t you think?”
Rolling his eyes Dero gave a slight smile, then he continued: “In the middle of the room sat a short Taoist priest dressed in a green robe. He was in his fifties, with a very thin face. He appeared as if he weighs less than 100 pounds. People in Jianghu say that Greenboro’s Helmsman is a petite, short Taoist priest, but had I not seen him with my own eyes, I would never have believed that that man could be the world-famous Reverend Yu.
“He was surrounded by a dozen disciples, all intensely watched the two teams practicing in the middle of the hall. After see only a few moves, I recognized that those four were practicing the same sword art they had learned recently.
“I knew the grave danger I was in. If the Greenboro people saw me, not only would I be humiliated, as the words get out, it’ll also bring shame to our school. Even though Shifu disciplined Big Brother and labeled him a undisciplined troublemaker, but Big Brother kicked the top two members of the ‘Greenboro’s Four Elites’ down two flights of stairs using just one move, deep down in Shifu’s heart, he must be pleased. After all Big Brother had brought honor to our clan. ‘Greenboro’s Four Elites’ who? They couldn’t even dodge a single kick from Huashan’s apprentice.
“But if I spied on them and was caught, it’ll be more dishonorable than stealing, and after returning to Huashan, Shifu most likely would kick me out from the school.
“However, knowing that this whole thing might have something to do with us, I couldn’t turn my back on it. I kept telling myself: ‘Just a few more moves, then I’ll leave.’ It was a set of very unconventional sword play, I had never seen it before in my life. Yet it doesn’t appear to be very powerful. I was perplexed: ‘This sword art doesn’t seem effective, why is Greenboro practicing it day and night? Can such sword play be the nemesis to Huashan’s own? It certainly doesn’t look like it.’
“After watching some more, I really couldn’t linger any longer. Taking advantage of the four still engaged in the heat of the battle, I quietly got back to my room. If I waited until they finish, I would not be able to extract myself from there. With Reverend Yu’s sharp ears, even if I took only one step, he would hear me.
“For the next two nights, I kept hearing swords clanking against one another, but I dared not to go watch again. In fact, if I knew that night that they were practicing in front of Reverend Yu, no way could I muster enough courage to go. It was a mistake and I got luck. Dayou called me brave, I really didn’t deserve it. That night if you saw how I shook in my boots having the bejesus scared out of me, you’d call me the biggest loser in the world.”
Dayou said: “No way, no way! Dero you are at most the world’s second biggest loser. But if I was there, I won’t worry about being discovered because I’d be frozen with fear, stopped breathing, and automatically stiffen up my legs. I’ll be like a zombie. I don’t care if Reverend Yu had eight pairs of ears, he’d never expect a character like me standing outside his window.”
All fell on the ground laughing.
Dero Lao continued: “When Reverend Yu finally received me, he was very polite, saying that Shifu didn’t need to discipline Big Brother; that Huashan and Greenboro had always been friends; that it was only kids being kids, and adults shouldn’t take it seriously.
“That night he hosted a dinner in my name. The next morning as I was leaving, Reverend Yu even went all the way to the gate to see me off. He has the same seniority as Shifu, so I had to kowtow to him before leaving. As I bent my left knee, Reverend Yu’s right hand gently lifted me up. A extraordinary force came from his hand, it made my entire body limp, and I couldn’t feel an ounce of my strength. If he felt like tossing me twenty yards out, or send me summersaulting ten times, I would had zero resistance. He gave a slight smile, then he asked me: ‘How long was your Big Brother in Huashan before you joined? You studied kungfu somewhere else before, right?’
“At the time I was still trying catch my breath, only after a while could I reply: “Yes sir, I did study at another school before joining Huashan. When I was admitted, Big Brother had been there for twelve years.’ Reverend Yu smile again and said: “Twelve more years, hmm, twelve more years.’”
The girl asked: “What do you think he meant by ‘twelve more years’?”
Dero Lao said: “He looked strange as he said it. I guess he meant that my kungfu was mediocre, so even if Big Brother had been studing twelve more years, he couldn’t have been that much better.”
The girl nodded, but spoke no more.
Dero Lao continued: “When I got back to Mt. Huashan, I gave Reverend Yu’s letter to Shifu. The letter was polite and considerate, also very modest, after reading it Shifu was very happy, he asked me about Wind Pine Temple. I told him about Greenboro’s disciples practicing sword at night. Shifu asked me to show him their moves. I could only remember seven or eight moves, so at once I replayed them in front of Shifu. As soon as he saw them, Shifu said: ‘This is Safeway Security’s Evil Ousting Sword Art!’”
Penny’s body shook as he heard this.
作者：高毅 在 海归茶馆 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
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 Chapter 2 - Eavesdropping Part IV (Translated by 高毅） -- 高毅 - (21513 Byte) 2011-7-01 周五, 15:19 (1589 reads)
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