Chapter 5: Gan Tang Part 3

Zhou Yitang didn't stoop to his level. He had a deep wrinkle in the space between his eyebrows and had it even when he smiled. As a result, he always seemed to be worried. He looked solemnly at Xie Yun, saying: "Xiao xiongdi (lit. 'little' 'brothers') [1], you have the gift of the gab."

"No, no," [2] Xie Yun said without missing a beat, "Someone like wanbei has only two good traits left: being able to run fast and having a silver tongue." [3]

Zhou Yitang's gaze turned to Li Jinrong. They were separated by only a few steps, but there was a sense of having nothing to say. Then, Zhou Yitang said in a low voice: "A-Fei, go take the lingpai off the tree for Father."

For an unknown reason, Zhou Fei turned around and looked at Li Jinrong. She had never seen this kind of expression on Li Jinrong's face; it wasn't sadness, but compared to the violent rage when Li Jinrong was capturing her, she seemed to have calmed down now. With her shoulders slightly caved in, little of her high and mighty armor was left and she almost appeared human.

Li Jinrong said hoarsely: "Didn't you say that the gratitude was already repaid? Since the gratitude and grudges have been cleared…"

"Jinrong," Zhou Yitang softly interrupted her, "When he was alive, the matters between two of us were cleared and I left for shelter at Shu*, not meeting with him even in Huang Quan (the land of the dead). [4] Now that he's gone, with life and death separating us, the events of the past have been written off, do you understand?"

*aka Shu Mountain aka the 48 Strongholds, Shu is the name of that region

Li Jinrong's complexion suddenly changed—Zhou Yitang knew that Liang Shao died!

Then what about…the outside rumors that she did everything she could to suppress? Did he also stay silent while actually knowing about them?

Li Jinrong wasn't her confused daughter; through just a word or two, she could understand the incisive exchange between Xie Yun and Zhou Yitang.

"[S/He] who cannot hear my flute is not the one I am seeking." — She should have long understood; how could someone like Zhou Yitang be willing to live simply for more than ten years, one day at a time and stay content only having power over a small corner, "turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to reality"?

Li Jinrong was lost in thought for a long while before slighting lifting up her head. At the same time, she pushed her shoulders back once again, as if she draped an iron shoulder pad on herself. After a while, she softly released a breath. Zhou Fei saw Li Jinrong blink quickly a few times and say to her: "Go hand it to your father."

The texture of that old lingpai was very rough. Zhou Fei thoughtlessly rubbed it and felt markings left by many different types of sharp weapons. These markings caused the originally ornate and traditional seal carving to have a bit of solemn and cold lifelessness.

"When my late father was still in this world, even if he had to put up a flag and become a bandit, thereby ruining his reputation himself, he was still determined to retain the 48 Strongholds as a place of shelter for those who had nowhere to go." Li Jinrong said sternly, "We don't rely on the North or the South; with these hundred thousand mountains [5] as walls, the waters of the Xi Mo River as a rampart, those who come to attack us must be killed. The order of [my] late father must not be violated, and so outside of the 48 Strongholds, we have no friends or enemies, no alliances or factions. Even if it's you, that remains the same."

Zhou Yitang's expression didn't change: "I understand."

Li Jinrong put her hands into her sleeves [6]: "If you leave, from now on, all of your ties with the 48 Strongholds will be severed." [7]

Zhou Fei turned around all of a sudden, her eyes wide.

"I won't order anyone to escort you," Li Jinrong said expressionlessly, "Your journey to Jin Ling will be very long and the world is not at peace. For the time being, you should stay for a few days and write a letter telling them to pick you up."

Once she finished speaking, she no longer paid attention to Xie Yun who, moments ago, she had insisted she would kill; she didn't care about the dumbstruck disciples either, even forgetting to break Zhou Fei's legs. Just like that, she turned away and left without speaking to anyone.

Zhou Yitang's gaze followed her until she was far off into the distance. After a long while, he finally waved his hand, saying in a low voice: "[Everyone] scatter away now—Sheng-er." [8]

Li Sheng silently walked out from behind him: "Uncle."

Personally, he believed that he was smarter than Zhou Fei. He had thought beforehand that Zhou Yitang was most likely not at the place he usually lived and so once he snuck out of his room, he went to search for Zhou Yitang all over the mountain. Li Sheng self-analyzed that since Zhou Yitang had a weak body that was afraid of the cold, heat and humidity, with how meticulous Li Jinrong's care for him was, the place arranged for him must not be in the shade, be near water or retain wind easily. The paths around it must also be easy to walk on. But after carefully following his analysis and searching all around the 48 Strongholds, he didn't even find Zhou Yitang's shadow. Who would've expected that after returning without any success, he bumped into Zhou Yitang in a place not that far away from his courtyard, leaning on an old tree and listening to the flute notes coming from nearby.

Li Sheng arrived with Zhou Yitang and naturally saw Zhou Fei fighting those four shixiong using only one sword. Having mixed feelings, he didn't look at Zhou Fei and walked with his head down, coming to a stop in front of Zhou Yitang.

Zhou Yitang said: "Go request a lingpai from Da Dang Jia in my name. This xiao xiongdi [1] is my guest and I ask that she let him go."

Li Sheng didn't dare to waste any time; he turned around and left.

"Many thanks, Zhou xiansheng." Xie Yun beamed, "As an uninvited guest, I came by climbing over walls and climbing through holes. When I leave, I can finally take a look at which direction the main gate of the 48 Strongholds closes in."

"Your last name is Xie," Zhou Yitang asked, "Does it (it as in 'Xie', he's basically asking about Xie Yun) have some relation with Xie xiang?" [9]

"You can't write two Xie with one stroke [10]," Xie Yun said matter-of-factly, "That lao ren jia (venerable old person) [11] and I were presumably of the same family eight hundred years ago, with our ancestral tombs side by side. But eight hundred years afterwards, he is high up in the imperial court and I am far away in the Jiang Hu. The two of us bring out the best in each other; it may be a mutual understanding resulting from eight obeisances."

Seeing that his words were full of nonsense, Zhou Yitang decided to just stop asking. He cupped his hands in a farewell gesture [12], called Zhou Fei and slowly walked away.

After that day, Zhou Fei didn't see Xie gongzi again. It was said that he had already left the mountain and had taken a letter written by Zhou Yitang with him. About a month after Xie Yun had left, someone very formally knocked on the mountain gates, requesting an audience with the Da Dang Jia of the 48 Strongholds Li Jinrong. However, Li Jinrong did not appear; she only gave an order to open the gates and allow Zhou Yitang to leave.

That day, throughout the 48 Strongholds, the greenery was brimming, verdant and as green as the sea. When a breeze swept by, the leaves would rustle; when it stopped, everything was quiet.

Alone, Zhou Yitang slowly walked down the mountain. The sentries stationed at the left and the right had already received the order and opened the gate. Black armored soldiers stood in front of the gate; they were all sent by Nan Chao (refresher: the government in the south) to escort him to Jin Ling.

Zhou Yitang glanced back at the path he had come from and didn't see the one he wanted to see. The corner of his mouth moved slightly, as if in self-mockery.

Right at this moment, someone shouted in a loud voice: "Wait!"

Zhou Yitang took a closer look and saw that Zhou Fei had rushed out from the 48 Strongholds and was chasing after him. She shouted: "Father!"

Li Da Dang Jia had said to not block Zhou Yitang, but she didn't say to not block Zhou Fei, who didn't even have a lingpai. The sentries in front of the mountain gate said in unison: "Shimei, halt." (refresher: 师妹 shi mei is like shixiong but mei means little sister)

Of course, Zhou Fei disregarded their words. She had obtained a zhai-bei dao from who-knows-where and threw out the iron sheath as she was approaching. It just about jammed the iron railing. The two sentries guarding the gate, one with a dao and one with a qiang (spear), made a move at the same time to intercept her. Zhou Fei bent backwards with her chang dao behind her back and flicked away the sentries' blades, shifting her body sideways to charge forward. Seven-eight disciples on guard duty immediately landed down at the gate, completely surrounding her.

Zhou Yitang had a resigned look on his face and said: "Zhou Fei, don't make trouble, go back!"

Zhou Fei only felt that those multitudes of dao and jian (swords) were like an inescapable Wu Xing Mountain [13]. Her two hands were at their limit and her knuckles were turning blue. She bit down and said: "I won't!"

Zhou Yitang: "A-Fei…"

Zhou Fei said with a somewhat tearful voice: "She won't let anyone see you off, I'll see you off! At the worst, I won't come back either!"

Zhou Yitang paused and looked behind him. Of those who came to pick him up, the leader was a thirty-five-six year old man. Clad in black armor, he appeared to be a capable person. Seeing Zhou Yitang's gaze sweep towards him, that person clad in black armor immediately stepped up and said: "Mo jiang [14] Wen Yu am under orders to escort Xiansheng to Jin Ling. What instructions do you have?"

"So you are 'Fei Qing' Jiangjun [15], it is an honor." Zhou Yitang pointed at Zhou Fei's sheath which was completely jammed, saying, "I've spoiled this child too much, she's really headstrong. Jiangjun please excuse her. My jingmai [16] of both hands have been cut, could I ask Jiangjun to lend a hand?"

Wen Yu said with a smile, "Zhou xiansheng is too polite."

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After saying so, he didn't walk forward. From very far away, he swung his hand and released a wave of force. It hit Zhou Fei's sheath not too lightly or heavily and the sheath fell instantly. The 6-zhang (1 zhang = 3.33 meters) tall iron gates in front of the 48 Strongholds made a sharp, ear-piercing noise and closed together.

Zhou Fei was pinned down in place by seven-eight guards and lifted her head with rage in her eyes, glaring at Wen Yu.

Wen Yu awkwardly touched his nose, saying: "I'm afraid your daughter has a grudge against me now."

"She's still young and isn't sensible." Zhou Yitang shook his head and bent down to pick up the iron sheath. It was first stuck in an iron gate then struck by Wen Yu and two pits immediately emerged on its surface.

Zhou Yitang turned towards Zhou Fei and said: "This dao is truly mediocre, later Father will find a good one for you."

Zhou Fei didn't say a word and used all her strength to push off the dao and jian restricting her. Her strength was clearly depleted and her chest ached sharply, but as if in spite, she was not willing to move back even half a cun. (1 cun = 3.33 cm)

"I remember I had told you 'you cannot get fish and bear paws at the same time' [17]." Zhou Yitang said as he looked at her.

Zhou Fei didn't want to hear him talk about nonsense like "laying down one's life for a noble cause" and turning a deaf ear, avoided his gaze. The chang dao in her hands was trembling nonstop and making a cracking noise. It then broke without any indication once again and the broken blade that shot out plunged into the ground. The guards called out at the same time and. using the backs of their blades, pressed down on her shoulders.

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"I'm not telling you about 'laying down one's life for a noble cause'," Zhou Yitang calmly said to her with an iron gate between them, "A-Fei, choice-making does not depend on what you think is important and what you don't think is important, because it is the way of the powerful, whether civil or military. Otherwise, you are just a nonentity and must live your entire life in spite of yourself, following the crowd. What choices can you speak of, aren't you just making a fool of yourself? Just like today, you said at the worst you would not return, but you are completely unable to leave through this gate. To stay here or to leave with me, can you even choose?"

Wen Yu heard Zhou Yitang speak in a soft voice to the girl and thought he was going to coax her with kind words. Who knew that Zhou Yitang would say such ruthless words; even he felt that his face [18] hurt when listening to those words, not to mention that young, young girl.

Zhou Fei was dumbstruck. Her eyes immediately turned red and she stared blankly at Zhou Yitang.

"Grow up nicely. People will always meet again and the world will always be out there—it only depends on when you will be able to freely come and go." Zhou Yitang said, "A-Fei, Father is leaving, goodbye."

—

金陵 Jin Ling

闻煜 Wen Yu

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—

[1] 小兄弟 xiao xiong di: literally means 'little' (xiao) and 'brothers' (xiongdi- xiong is older brother, di is younger brother) but xiongdi refers to someone who is of the same path/society/community and who you have a deep friendship with. Zhou Yitang's kind of being sarcastic here, but xiongdi is also just a generic way of addressing a male when you don't know their name.

[2] 惭愧 can kui: this means 'ashamed' but here Xie Yun is being "humble" and saying that he's ashamed to be praised by Zhou Yitang. Zhou Yitang was not actually praising him of course, and this is oftentimes a way that people "decline" things in ancient times.

[3] Here, Xie Yun is actually comparing himself to a product. As in, he calls himself a product. He says "A product like me has only two uses left…." but I thought it would be weird with context and grammar so I changed it a bit.

[4] 黄泉 Huang Quan is the Chinese equivalent of Hell or as we call it, 地狱 di yu. It gets a bit more complicated as there are many layers of Di Yu and a bunch of other things, but that is the "nice" or general way to refer to the land of the dead. You can find more info about Di Yu at this Wikipedia page.

[5] 十万大山 shi wan da shan: literally means hundred thousand large mountains, but an actual mountain called Shiwan Mountain does actually exist. I'm not sure if the author meant it as a hyperbole for the surrounding mountains in the setting or as a reference to the actual mountain.

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[6] Looks like this.

[7] 再无瓜葛 zai wu gua ge: I feel like no matter which way I phrased it, I couldn't convey the sense of compete termination between Zhou Yitang and the 48 Strongholds. That's why Zhou Fei is so surprised in the next sentence, because it's a HUGE deal.

[8] -儿 -er: this is similar to 阿- A- and it's a way of converting a name to a nickname for a closer and more affectionate way of addressing someone.

[9] 相 xiang: the second character of 丞相 cheng xiang which means prime minister and 首相/外相 shou xiang/wai xiang which means minister or an official of a middle status. It is unclear exactly which position (and of which government) this Xie xiang may be in, though my first thought was prime minister because a regular minister wouldn't be that important.

[10] 一笔写不出两个谢 yi bi xie bu chu liang ge xie: this phrase is like a fill in the blank phrase and is formatted 一笔写不出两个x where the x is the surname.. What this means is literally 'You can't write two [insert last name] in one stroke' but it is a way of saying that (between people who have the same last name) you are close with the other person. Xie Yun is probably just saying something like oh there are many people who have Xie as a last name, blah blah blah but he's also just avoiding the question and saying nonsense.

[11] 老人家 lao ren jia: this is an honorific title to address old people and means venerable old person

[12] 拱手 gong shou: also a salute, but different from 抱拳 bao quan. Here's a photo of gong shou. (Sorry it's low res)

[13] 五行山 wu xing shan: this is a cultural reference to a classic literary work called "西游记"or "Journey to the West". In it, one of the four main characters 孙悟空 Sun Wukong (a mythology character who appears in different stories too- side note: for any anime fans, Goku was based on Sun Wukong, his kanji spelling is the same and his shirt even says 悟. The original Dragon Ball manga also had many Journey to the West parallels.) is trapped under Wu Xing Shan and he could not escape until the monk 唐僧 Tang Seng rescued him from underneath the mountain 500 years later.

[14] 末将 mo jiang: a way for a 将军 jiang jun or general to address himself. Here, Wen Yu is giving Zhou Yitang his name.

[15] 飞卿将军 fei qing jiang jun: 飞 fei means fly, 卿 qing means a senior official and 将军 jiang jun means general.

[16] 经脉 jing mai: the meridian system in English. Jing mai is a concept in traditional Chinese medicine about a path through which the life-energy known as "qi" flows. It's existence is debated as there's not a scientific consensus for its existence but many scientists have said it probably exists. Meridian Wikipedia page.

[17] 鱼与熊掌不可兼得 yu yu xiong zhang bu ke jian de: Because fish live in the water and bears live in the deep forest, you can only get one at a time. If you go to the river to get fish, you can't go into the forest to hunt a bear. And vice versa. This is saying that oftentimes, you can only make one choice as both cannot be achieved.

[18] Face refers to reputation here. The concept of saving face is extremely common in Chinese culture, but I don't think it's used much in English/Western culture. Here's a Wikipedia page for more info about face as a sociological concept.