The Legend of the Bat

There was no light in the cabin, it was very dark, they could not see this person’s face and figure clearly, they could only see a pair of eyes – a pair of bright eyes. foxswuxia.wordpress.com

No matter who, it was very rare to see such bright, such beautiful eyes, only too bad right now this pair of eyes was brimming with panic and fear, naturally it was far less touching than usual.

Zhang San laughed and said, “I don’t have anything here, only a few worn out socks. If Guniang does not dislike the smell, please take it away, staying here won’t do you any good.”

The person in the cabin did not move, but did not leave either, unexpectedly it looked like she decided to stay here.

Knitting his brows, Zhang San said, “You still don’t want to leave?”

Very quickly the person in the cabin shook her head.

Zhang San said, “What on earth are you going to do here? Could it be that you simply must wait for me to blast you out?”

He seemed to be wanting to really come in to chase her out, but Hu Tiehua pulled him back. Scowling at him, he said, “Could it be that there is something wrong with you, this person?”

Stumped for words, Zhang San said, “Something’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

Hu Tiehua said, “If there is such a beautiful girl willing to honor me by coming to my house, it would still be not enough if I do everything I can to ask her to stay, how could I pull my face and drive her away?” Translated by foxs

Laughing in spite of himself, Zhang San said, “Did you hear that? Although I’m a very good guy, this kid is a big pervert. I advise you to leave quickly, the sooner the better.”

Other than fish and pearls, Zhang San had no interest in anything else.

Who would have thought that the person in the cabin was still shaking her head?

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “Guniang must not listen to him, I, this person, just like to make friends, that’s all. As long as Guniang is happy, no matter how long you want stay here, I don’t have any problem, I guarantee that he will not dare to be rude to you.”

He thought that the person inside the cabin would be very grateful to him, who would have thought that this Miss unexpectedly seemed to be completely unable to differentiate good from bad, she gave him a fierce look instead.

Right this instant, Hu Tiehua suddenly realized that this pair of eyes looked very familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere.

Before he could speak, Chu Liuxiang already asked, “Is it Jin Guniang?”

Sure enough, the person inside the cabin nodded.

Hu Tiehua also remembered, he blurted out, “Right, it’s that vicious girl. As soon as she became vicious, as soon as she opened her eyes, I recognized who she was. Zhang San …” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

He turned his head around to look for Zhang San, but Zhang San slipped away early on.

Chu Liuxiang asked, “Why did Jin Guniang come here?”

Hu Tiehua’s countenance sank, he snorted coldly and said, “Someone as respectable as Jin Guniang, surprisingly you came here, this is indeed a curious occurrence. I wonder if you came here because you still want to take my life?”

Jin Lingzhi blinked, the rim of her eyes unexpectedly appeared to be a little red.

Surprisingly she also kept her temper in check.

This tyrannical and overbearing Big Miss, unexpectedly this moment looked a bit pitiful.

Immediately Hu Tiehua’s heart softened.

His heart was originally not too hard, especially when he saw a girl, it softened very quickly. He originally wanted to pull his face, who would have thought that the muscle on his face already refused to obey his command. He broke into a smile and said, “Although there is nothing good here, but the grilled fish is not bad, as long as Jin Guniang does not get angry, anything can be discussed nicely.” Translated by foxs

Jin Lingzhi blinked again, unexpectedly tears were streaming down her eyes.

As soon as he saw a woman’s tears, not only Hu Tiehua’s heart went soft, his person also went soft; he spoke gently, “If Jin Guniang is still angry with me, it’s all right even if you beat me a few times to vent your anger.”

Chu Liuxiang chuckled, he said, “But I am afraid Jin Guniang is not here to look for you.”

His eyes grew wide, Hu Tiehua said, “Not looking for me, could it be that she is looking for you? What for?”

Chu Liuxiang did not pay him any attention, he spoke heavily, “Could it be that Jin Guniang met with some mishap?”

Jin Lingzhi indeed nodded again.

Hu Tiehua scrambled to say, “Could it be that somebody dared to be rude to Jin Guniang?”

Jin Lingzhi lowered her head, unexpectedly she seemed to be sobbing softly.

Hu Tiehua said, “Could it be that Jin Guniang is not their opponent, hence you came here to hide?”

Jin Lingzhi neither nodded nor shook her head, but her sob was even more sorrowful. foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Exploding in anger, Hu Tiehua said, “That kid’s guts is indeed not small. Jin Guniang, with us here, you don’t have to be afraid of anything …”

The more he spoke, the angrier he got.

Seeing someone bullying a girl, once his anger flared out, it was simply out of control, he hatefully said, “Where is that kid now? Take us to him!”

Jin Lingzhi’s body shrank back even farther, like a lamb that had been chased and had nowhere to run. After going through great difficulty to find a place to hide, how could she be willing to come out?

Knitting his brows, Hu Tiehua said, “Could it be that Jin Guniang is injured?”

Jin Lingzhi’s voice trembled, “I …”

As soon as one word came out of her mouth, she could not help letting out a soft cry, as if the pain was unbearable.

Emotionally moved, Hu Tiehua said, “Where is your injury, let me see, is it all right?”

His mouth was still speaking, he already entered the cabin head-on.

The space inside the cabin was not big, moreover, it indeed had a very particular smell –– most places where bachelors live have this kind of smell. Translated by foxs

If a thousand-jin of gold [honorific: daughter] young lady like Jin Lingzhi was not hard-pressed, even if she had to pinch her nose, she would never have come here.

Hu Tiehua sighed inwardly, he spoke gently, “Although I’m not a famous doctor, I can treat injuries; Jin Guniang, don’t worry, let me see your condition, I am bound to find a way to heal it.”

Jin Lingzhi struggled, she stretched out her legs, and spoke in a trembling voice, “He … he wanted to kill me, one saber chop nearly cut off my leg.”

Hu Tiehua gritted his teeth and said, “Good kid, so heartless …”

The cabin was very dark, he squatted down, but still could not see clearly where the wound on Jin Lingzhi’s leg was. Frowning, he said, “Zhang San, don’t you even have a lamp in this ghost place?”

He wanted to feel the injury on her leg, who would have thought that he just stretched out his hand, Jin Lingzhi’s severely injured leg suddenly became able to move. Not only it could move, it moved really fast, really powerful. Once the leg flew, it kicked Hu Tiehua’s jianjing [shoulder (water) well] acupoint, and then the other leg kicked Hu Tiehua, sending him rolling out. She was using the authentic northern style mandarin duck kicks.

Hu Tiehua could not even let out a cry of surprise, he was already under her control and was unable to move.

Only to see a flash of sword light, a long sword had already pressed against his throat. foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Jin Lingzhi’s eyes glowered again, she spoke sternly, “You pervert, how dare you touch my leg? Have you forgotten who I am?”

Hu Tiehua sighed, he smiled bitterly and said, “I haven’t forgotten anything, I just forgot that you are a woman. A man who wants to help a woman is just asking for trouble. If he believes in a woman, he deserves to have bad luck!”

Jin Lingzhi laughed coldly and said, “What thing are you that I would ask you to help me. Even if everyone in the world is dead, I will not look for you.”

She suddenly turned her head and shouted, “Stand there and don’t move, if you move, I will kill him first!”

Actually, Chu Liuxiang practically did not move.

By the time he realized something was wrong, thinking about making his move was already too late.

Glowering at him, Jin Lingzhi said, “I ask you, is this person your good friend?”

Chu Liuxiang sighed, “It seems that even if I don’t want to admit it, I don’t have any way to do that!”

Jin Lingzhi said, “Do you want him to live, or do you want him to die?” Translated by foxs

Hu Tiehua hurriedly said, “Of course he wants me to live. If I die, who will argue with him?”

“That’s right,” Chu Liuxiang said, “If he dies, my life will be peaceful; only too bad that I, this person, have never passed my days in peace and security.”

“Very well,” Jin Lingzhi said, “If you want to save him, go and find Zhang San first.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang San already appeared, he spoke with bitter face, “I don’t want him to die either. Among my friends, there is no idiot like him, to find such a person is not an easy task.”

Hu Tiehua also cried out, “Make up your mind, am I a pervert? Or an idiot?”

Zhang San said, “You are an idiot pervert, and a pervert idiot; one person can do two jobs.”

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “If I can draw a salary, holding two jobs is not a bad thing.”

Jin Lingzhi’s eyes flickered, surprisingly she did not interrupt.

Simply because listening to this exchange, she was really stunned.

If it were someone else, falling into a situation like theirs, even if they did not tremble with fear, their faces turned deadly grey, they would inevitably frown with anxiety.

Who would have thought that these men were still hee, hee, ha, ha and joking, as if they considered this kind of thing as simple home-style meal, practically they did not take it to heart. foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Surprisingly, Hu Tiehua even laughed happily.

As soon as Jin Lingzhi’s hand tightened, the tip of the sword almost pierced Hu Tiehua’s throat, she snarled, “You guys think I do not dare to kill him, don’t you?”

Zhang San heaved a sigh, he muttered, “Of course you dare, you dare to even charge into the place where men are taking a bath, what else is there in the world that you dare not do?”

Jin Lingzhi said angrily, “What are you mumbling about?”

Smiling apologetically, Zhang San said, “I said Jin Guniang is originally a towering figure among the women, what’s so strange for you to kill someone? I only ask Guniang not to force me to jump into this river, I will bring everything here.”

Rolling her eyes, Jin Lingzhi said, “It’s good that you understand; quickly jump into the water and take a bath.”

Zhang San blurted out, “What? Take a bath … Zaixia just took a bath half a month ago, now my body is still very clean.” Translated by foxs

Jin Lingzhi spoke sternly, “If you want to save his life, quickly jump down and stop talking nonsense.”

Zhang San spoke with a miserable expression, “But … but now it’s cold, and this river is very dirty …”

Jin Lingzhi laughed coldly and said, “If it’s not dirty, I did not want you to jump.”

Zhang San said, “Wh … why?”

Jin Lingzhi said, “You made me smell the stench here for half a day, how can I easily let you go?”

Zhang San said, “But I never invited Guniang to come here.”

Jin Lingzhi spoke angrily, “Why don’t you clean up this place?”

Zhang San said, “How do I know Guniang was coming?”

Jin Lingzhi said, “Never mind, never mind, I just ask you, are you going to jump? Are you not going to?”

Zhang San heaved a sigh, he muttered, “This Guniang is really completely unreasonable. I think her future husband will inevitably be infuriated to death by her.”

Opening her eyes wide, Jin Lingzhi said, “What are you muttering about?”

Zhang San hurriedly smiled apologetically and said, “I’m just saying, Guniang’s order, who would dare not to obey?” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

With one hand pinching his nose, unexpectedly he really, ‘Splash!’ jumped into the river.

But Jin Lingzhi’s anger did not diminish at all, she glared at Chu Liuxiang and said, “Now it’s your turn.”

Smiling wryly, Chu Liuxiang said, “Could it be that Guniang also want me to jump and take a bath?”

Laughing coldly, Jin Lingzhi said, “You won’t have that kind of convenience.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “What does Guniang want me to do?”

Jin Lingzhi said, “I just want you to get something for me. If you promise me, I’ll let him go immediately.”

Chu Liuxiang breathed a sigh of relief, he said, “I wonder what is it that Guniang want me to get?”

Jin Lingzhi said, “Peach.” Translated by foxs

Chu Liuxiang was stunned, “Peach?” he asked, “What peach?”

Jin Lingzhi replied, “Naturally peach to be eaten, could it be that you never even heard of peaches?”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “Although now is not peach season, if Guniang insists on wanting it, you will definitely be able to get it.”

Jin Lingzhi spoke leisurely, “It’s just that the peach I want is a little special.”

Chu Liuxiang asked, “What’s so special?”

He seemed to suddenly remember something, his countenance changed, he blurted out, “What Guniang wants, could it be the Yu Pantao [Jade Flat Peach/the peaches of immortality kept by Xi Wangmu (Queen Mother of the West)] in the Jile Gong [Palace of Bliss (lit. extreme happiness)] of the Xingxiuhai [lit. sea of star constellation, Xingxiuhai Basin in Qinghai, more than 4000m above sea level, featuring numerous lakes large and small] in the western region?”

“That’s right,” Jin Lingzhi said.

Chu Liuxiang sucked in a mouthful of cold air, he smiled ruefully and said, “The peach Guniang wants is indeed very special.”

Jin Lingzhi spoke indifferently, “If it’s not special, I don’t want it.”

She went on, “In half a month, it will be my [paternal] grandmother’s eightieth birthday. My [older] brothers, [older] sisters, and uncles [lit. father’s younger and older brothers, respectively] have all already prepared a special birthday gift, how could I not have one?” [Translator’s note: the word for ‘birthday gift’ denotes a birthday present for an old person, lit. longevity gift.] foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “If Guniang could give the Jade Peach from the Palace of Bliss as her birthday present, naturally it will be a remarkable birthday gift, it will definitely be able to surpass all the gifts given by others.”

“Precisely so,” Jin Lingzhi said, “Rumors in Jianghu all say that this Yu Pantao is of the immortal seed from the Xitian’s [Western Paradise] Wangmu Niangniang’s [another name for Xi Wangmu] Pantao Yuan [donut peach garden]. If young people eat it, it nourishes their qi and maintains their youthful appearance, and keeps their youthfulness forever. If old people eat it, it will prolong their life, and live forever without growing old.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Since that is the case, Guniang should know that this Yu Pantao will only bear fruits once every thirteen years; moreover …”

Jin Lingzhi cut him off, “I have already inquired clearly, this year is precisely the time when the Pantao will bear fruits. Moreover, I don’t want much, only four or five will suffice.”

Hu Tiehua also heaved a sigh, he smiled wryly and said, “You seem to think that your heart is very peaceful, but do you know how many fruits that Yu Pantao bear at a time?”

“Seven,” Jin Lingzhi replied. Translated by foxs

“That’s right,” Hu Tiehua said, “That Yu Pantao only grew seven fruits in thirteen years, but you want others to give you four or five. Could it be that you think that the old freak in Jile Gong is the old stinky bug’s son?”

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “Even if I am really his laozi [old man, father], I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to get it either.”

“Why?” Jin Lingzhi asked.

Chu Liuxiang said, “Jile Gongzhu [master of the Palace of Bliss] Zhang Biqi’s wife, Sun Bulao [lit. not old], loves beauty the most, and is most afraid of getting old. In the past, she swore a solemn oath that she would never let her husband see her face at that time.”

Hu Tiehua said, “This Zhang Furen [madam] is a wise person. She knows that men are most afraid of seeing laotaipo [old women] – when their wives grow old, out of ten husbands, I am afraid nine would have a change of heart.”

Jin Lingzhi sighed softly, “But everybody will grow old, no one can be an exception, right?”

When a woman hears the word ‘old’, she can’t help but worry. Although Jin Lingzhi’s temper was like that of a man, she was not an exception.

Chu Liuxiang said, “What she meant by that remark was that when she was about to get old, she would die, then her husband would never see her old and frail.”

Hu Tiehua chuckled, he said, “Maybe that was not what she meant.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Oh?” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Hu Tiehua said, “Perhaps what she meant was that when she was getting old, she would kill her husband –– only dead people would never have a change of heart, right?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Actually, they, husband and wife are married couple very much in love. It could be said that they are the most loving couple in Wulin. No matter who dies first, I am afraid the other cannot continue living.”

He went on to say, “In the past, the Jile Gong’s original name was ‘Lichou Gong’ [lit. Parting Sorrow (or pain of separation) Palace], and Lichou Gongzhu [palace master] Xuan Yuanye was also reckoned to be the first or second best Wulin martial art master at that time.”

Hu Tiehua said, “I’ve also heard of this man. It is said that he had innate divine power, unparalleled in the world at that time. The weapon he used weighed more than a hundred jin [catty, about ½ kilogram], matchless under the heavens. Later, unexpectedly he suddenly disappeared for an unknown reason.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “At that time, Zhang Biqi was not yet thirty years old, he had just revealed the brilliance of youth in Jianghu. One day, he suddenly went to Xingxiuhai to challenge Xuan Yuanye for a duel. Moreover, he also made a bet, staking his and his wife’s lives against Xuan Yuanye’s Lichou Gong, because he heard that the Yu Pantao can make people stay young forever.” Translated by foxs

Blurted out laughing, Hu Tiehua said, “This bet is really a bit unfair, if Zhang Biqi won, not only he would take possession of Lichou Gong that is more gorgeous than the imperial palace, but his wife would also retain her youthfulness and not grow old; if Xuan Yuanye won, taking their, husband and wife’s lives, what’s the use? If I were Xuan Yuanye, I wouldn’t make this bet against him.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Although the bet is unfair, Xuan Yuanye crisscrossed the world without a rival, how could he consider this young man who was venturing from his thatched hut for the first time [idiom: novice] worthy in his eyes? He agreed immediately to decide victory or defeat in three rounds.”

“What three rounds?” Hu Tiehua asked.

Chu Liuxiang said, “One round was betting on weapons, one round on internal strength, and one round on secret projectiles and qinggong.”

Hu Tiehua said, “Xuan Yuanye’s weapon was powerful, it could be said that before, there was no ancient man, after, there was no incoming person. His inner power was profound, naturally not something that a young man in his twenties could match. It could be said that he already won at least two rounds.” foxswuxia.wordpress.com

Chu Liuxiang said, “Xuan Yuanye himself must have thought so at the time. Who would have thought that Zhang Biqi not only had real handed-down teachings in martial arts skills, but was also extremely intelligent as a person. He has already come up with a weapon to control Xuan Yuanye’s weapon.”

“What weapon?” Hu Tiehua asked.

Chu Liuxiang replied, “Xiaohun Suo [lit. vanishing/melting-away soul rope].”

Knitting his brows, Hu Tiehua said, “I have never heard of this kind of weapon.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “This kind of weapon was originally created by him, and the name was also chosen by him. Naturally, others have never heard of it.”

Hu Tiehua said, “Actually, what kind of weapon was that?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “It was nothing more than just a long rope.”

“Rope?” Hu Tiehua said, “How could a rope be used as a weapon? How could it hurt people?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “The rope he used was three zhang long, and he stood three zhang away to fight against Xuan Yuanye. Although Xuan Yuanye’s weapon was heavy, it was unable to shake the rope in his hand to fly. Although the weapon Xuan Yuanye used was long, it was incapable to reach three zhang. His qinggong was originally higher than Xuan Yuanye’s, so even if Xuan Yuanye wanted to press on toward him, he was simply unable to do so.”

Hu Tiehua said, “But using the rope, how could he injure Xuan Yuanye? Wouldn’t it mean he was already standing in the position where he could not win? Fighting against people, how could there be such a stupid method?”