Chapter 6: Finishing Their Apprenticeships Part 2

Li Sheng didn't want to see Zhou Fei and walked back with his head down. He took a shortcut and entered a small wild bamboo forest, but then his footsteps suddenly paused: "Aunt?"

Li Jinrong stood in the forest with her hands behind her back. Two leaves had fallen on her shoulder and she had probably waited for quite a long time already. She nodded at him and gave him an instruction: "Go get A-Fei, come find me together."

"Understood," Li Sheng answered, then asked: "Where should we find you?" [1]

"Xiu Shan Hall." Li Jinrong left as soon as she finished speaking.

Li Sheng was dumbfounded for a few moments, but then he almost jumped into the air—Xiu Shan Hall was the place where the disciples of the 48 Strongholds would go to receive their mingpai. [2] Typically, disciples who hadn't yet finished their apprenticeships would be led to Xiu Shan Hall by their shifu and would take their exam on the spot. If they passed, they would be able to receive their mingpai right after the exam. From then on, they would be adults who could enter and exit through the main gates!

Xiu Shan Hall was located in a valley and had a wide field of vision. There were two courtyards, one in the front and one in the back, and it seemed very imposing.

The front courtyard was bustling with voices. Anyone who entered or exited the Strongholds needed to register their mingpai here. A group of young disciples seemed like they were about to leave for an assignment; it was likely a rare opportunity to go outside as they seemed to be enjoying themselves. As they got registered, they were having fun talking loudly and playing around. Just as they were enjoying themselves to the max, they ran right into Li Da Dang Jia who walked swiftly into the courtyard.

Shocked, the young disciples immediately turned into a group of baby chicks. Standing in a row, they shrunk their necks into their shoulders and trembling with fright, they greeted her in unison.

Li Jinrong didn't linger and led Zhou Fei and Li Sheng directly to the back courtyard. The person in charge of the back courtyard was a middle-aged man with a round face and his name was Ma Jili. He was just like his name* and had very joyful features. As soon as he spoke, it seemed like he was going to extend his New Year greetings.

*吉利 ji li means auspicious/lucky

Ma Jili and a white-haired old woman had came out early to wait and greet them. Even from a distance, Ma Jili bowed with his hands folded in front and said: "Greetings, Da Dang Jia."

"Ma xiong," Li Jinrong said with a nod. She then said towards the old woman behind Ma Jili and said, "We've kept you waiting, lao furen (old lady)."

The old woman didn't look like someone of the Jiang Hu and seemed to be an old lady from the countryside who had a modest amount of savings. She held a wooden walking stick in her hand and smiled at them kindly. The last name of the old woman was Wang and she was originally the widow of the leader of the Xiao Xiang Sect. After her husband died, she became the temporary leader due to a lack of outstanding houbei* in the sect.

*same as wanbei, those of a younger generation

"There's no rush, I only just arrived." Wang lao furen said. Once she spoke, she seemed even more like an old lady from the countryside. She continued, "I'm old, I can no longer walk nimbly. I left a bit early so I could walk over here slowly and prevent troubling you all to wait for me…oh, look, Sheng-er you've become taller than your aunt, you're really a grown lad now! And xiao (little) A-Fei, come quickly and help support me, hasn't it been a while since you've come to play?"

Muddle-headed, Zhou Fei was given a few pieces of candy. She was hungry anyway and decided to honor her and eat them, though she didn't know why the lao ren jia came to Xiu Shan Hall.

Ma Jili led them to the main courtyard of the back courtyard. The back hall had a tall platform and on the platform were forty-eight large and high-rising wooden columns with a person standing at the base of each column.

Ma Jili said with a smile: "This is the place in the back hall where we test our disciples, your previous shixiong and shijie came up with a name for these forty-eight large columns— 'Picking Flowers Platform'*. These forty-eight columns represent us 48 Strongholds and at the base of each column, there is a guard guarding each sect's column. The two of you must try your best to obtain the window paper-cuts at the top of each column within three incense sticks." [3]

*It's called Picking Flowers because in Chinese 窗花 chuang hua literally means window flowers, but in English it's more commonly called window paper-cuts.

Ma Jili pointed at the columns and Zhou Fei gazed in the direction he pointed to. At the top of those large columns was a small hook which hooked a palm-sized window paper-cut. The window paper-cuts were made using red paper, and some were of people and some were of pavilions, terraces and towers; they were all of fine workmanship.

Ma Jili continued: "There are no limits to the method you use and all of the 18 weapons are available for use. You can even use smooth talk if you can persuade the guarding shixiong to make way for you. If you are able to obtain two window paper-cuts within three incense sticks, you pass the test and from then on, you have finished your apprenticeship. But there is one rule—"

All smiles, Ma zongguan (manager) rubbed his hands together as if he was slightly embarrassed: "I cut those window paper-cuts myself when I was bored with nothing to do, please excuse my poor craftsmanship. The paper is fragile as well and tears if you pull it so you must be very careful when 'picking flowers'. They won't count if they tear."

Zhou Fei looked up towards the lively and vivid window paper-cuts and felt that Ma zongguan was the epitome of skillfully doing whatever job one takes up. She asked: "How would it count as picked? Is it on the basis of grabbing it or do you have to completely get off the platform?"

Hearing this, Ma Jili first praised her, saying: "A-Fei's thinking is very meticulous."

Zhou Fei laughed dryly. Her wit was the result of being deceived by Yu Lao. Yu Lao has never said any truthful in his whole life; for example, they agreed upon releasing the Qian Ji with six rocks to land on, but by the time she was finally able to escape the range of the six rocks and Qian Ji wires, before she could even take a breath, she found that the rock she was standing on began to move again—Yu Lao then said, even though they agreed on releasing six rocks to land on, they didn't say that those six rocks wouldn't change!

Oftentimes, Zhou Fei could say nothing back and could only be hunted down by the Qian Ji in the Xi Mo River. Over time, she developed it out of sheer necessity.

Ma Jili then explained to her: "It's not on the basis of grabbing it and it's not on the basis of getting off the platform—it's on the basis of landing on the ground. When you are at the top, the guard can fight against you for it, but once you land on the ground, the guard can no longer make any moves. Or else, what would happen if all of the guards on the Picking Flower Platform rush in all at once? Furthermore, it's too harsh to expect the disciples of a younger generation to win against their shixiong and shijie."

Li Sheng took a few glances at the Picking Flower Platform and asked: "Uncle Ma [4], does that empty column represent us Li Family Sect?"

"Indeed," Ma Jili said, "Da Dang Jia has been busy with sect affairs in the recent years and has not accepted any disciples and the Li Family Sect does not have a column guard. As a result, that column has always been empty—hey, xiao zi [5], the window paper-cut on the empty column doesn't count."

At this time, Li Jinrong suddenly spoke: "It's usually empty, but since I'm here today, the forty-eight columns will be complete."

Ma zongguan and Wang lao furen were shocked. They watched as Li Jinrong mindlessly grabbed an épée from the weapon rack off to the side. She carried it with on hand and weighed it before walking slowly to the base of the Li Family Sect column. The forty-seven disciples next to her instantly seemed like they were anticipating a formidable enemy and even straightened their backs. Together, they all stared at Zhou Fei and Li Sheng.

The corners of Ma zongguan's mouth twitched and he felt that these two children would likely have some difficulty today. He then sucked up to Li Jinrong and said: "Da Dang Jia is too kind [6], you standing there only makes the Picking Flowers Platform look complete. Not talking about the children in our Stronghold, even if the leader of Bei Dou 'Tan Lang' (Hanker Wolf) himself came, would he dare to climb your column?"

After he spoke, he was afraid that his words were too ambiguous and couldn't resist reminding Zhou Fei and Li Sheng, saying: "There are forty-eight columns but you only need to take down two window paper-cuts. The 48 Strongholds each have their strength, us who practice martial arts can be successful with only one strength and don't have to cover every aspect. You only have to choose what you're good at—who's going first?"

Zhou Fei didn't say anything. Li Sheng glanced at her and said: "Me."

"Of course, whoever's older goes first [7]," Ma Jili joyfully said before raising his voice, "The disciples of the 48 Strongholds are going up to the Picking Flowers Platform, light the incense—"

Zhou Fei rubbed her ears and felt that Uncle Ma was probably previously a folk [8] "da cao" (someone who is responsible for hosting weddings and funerals). He spoke loud and clear and it seemed like the next sentence he spoke would be something like "Please lower the bride's sedan chair" or "Someone gave a gift of one-hundred-twenty diao*".

*吊 diao= a string of 1,000 copper coins

However, Uncle Ma did not say any of those wedding and funeral phrases. As he watched Li Sheng, who was walking towards the Picking Flowers Platform, he started to list the rules of the Stronghold: "One, you cannot slaughter innocent people; two, you cannot rape or loot…"

After listing all of the thirty-three rules, Ma Jili paused before stating: "Those of my generation are uninhibited and unrestrained, free from formalities and free from laws. We do not seek to leave a good name to future generations and it does not matter if we go down in history with a foul reputation. We seek only to be worthy to the heavens, worthy to the earth and worthy to ourselves!"

Hearing his words, Zhou Fei paused and couldn't help but turn around and look at Ma Jili. His chubby round face was all serious and had an unspeakable sense of dignity.

Li Sheng carefully observed the locations of the forty-eight columns on the Picking Flowers Platform. Then, he moved and headed straight toward the "Qian Zhong" (Thousand Bells) column. Li Sheng was very clever and adroit; no matter how complex the gongfu was, he could analyze and understand practically everything with just one look, which was the exact opposite of Qian Zhong where they emphasized strength over mind.

The disciple who guarded the column blocked his path with a halberd but Li Sheng jumped up into the air and spiraled up the column as if using Through Flowers and Around Trees [9]. Just as the disciple was about to chase after him, Li Sheng suddenly turned around and pulled out the two daggers he had at his waist and pounced from above, using "Tai Shan Qing" (Tai Mountain Falls). The disciple's reaction was not quick enough and facing upward, the disciple pushed the long halberd up to shoulder the attack. Li Sheng clasped the wooden column with his legs and turned his body like a fox spirit. When the dagger and the halberd clashed with each other, Li Sheng used that force to leap up and grab the red window paper-cut at the top.

Li Sheng picked his first "flower" but didn't linger or get down. After placing the red window paper-cut in his sleeve, he directly swung and leapt from the Qian Zhong column to a second column that was next to it. That column guard didn't expect his qinggong to be that good and had lost the chance to chase after him, which let Li Sheng easily take his second window paper-cut.

Ma zongguan couldn't resist praising him and said to Wang lao furen: "It's been many years since I last saw such an agile young man, how many do you think he'll be able to take?"

Wang lao furen chuckled: "Back in the day, within three incense sticks Li Er Ye was able to take twelve window paper-cuts. It seems to me that this xiao zi has solid gongfu (martial arts skills) and knows how to deceive people. He will likely outdo his father."

Ma zongguan glanced beside him at Zhou Fei, who seemed to look pensive, and couldn't resist teasing her, asking: "How many can A-Fei take?"

Absent-minded, Zhou Fei replied: "One."

Ma zongguan: "Niece, you don't be able to finish your apprenticeship that way, you'd have to go back and practice for a few more years."

Zhou Fei looked at him blankly and blinked a few times before realizing and casually changed her words: "Oh, then two."

Ma zongguan had never seen a youngster with such "high aspirations" and laughed dryly for a good while. Faced with her aspirations, he couldn't praise her even if he went against his conscious and could only say: "Neither conceited nor rash, modest and prudent, very good."

The disciples who guarded the columns in the back began to understand Li Sheng's style and other than the two disciples who caught unaware in the beginning, the red window paper-cuts were not that easy to obtain. However, Li Sheng was very tactical and, on a rare occasion, wasn't impetuous. Each move he made was very sensible and he would occasionally go in one direction but attack in another. By the time three incense sticks were about to finish burning, Li Sheng had already taken fifteen red window paper-cuts and ultimately halted at the Xiao Xiang Sect column.

The Xiao Xiang Sect also used swords [10] and their method was agile and faint. The guarding disciple and Li Sheng had different approaches but equally good results and the two happily fought for a while. Not paying attention, they ripped the corner of the red window paper-cut.

At this time, Ma zongguan raised his voice and said: "End of incense!"

Li Sheng landed on the ground and didn't go to count his results. He first lowered his head in respect to the guarding disciples: "Many thanks to every shixiong and shijie for showing mercy."

Only then did he turn around and look at Li Jinrong with a little bit of anticipation. Li Jinrong had a hint of a smile on her face and nodded at him once. Li Sheng was finally able let go of the breath he had been holding and took out the red window paper-cuts he had taken. He brought them in front of Ma Jili and said: "Uncle Ma, please take a look, I'm not sure if some are torn."

Li Sheng was very good at pretending to be a gentleman. Given his words, there definitely wouldn't be even the smallest tear. Ma Jili beamed with joy and praised Li Sheng up and down, before saying: "Wait for a few moments off to the side for the time being."

Li Jinrong said: "Zhou Fei, it's your turn, come here."

Ma Jili rushed to say: "Wait, wait, allow me to put up new window paper-cuts to replace the taken and torn ones."

Li Jinrong said: "She won't need them, light the incense sticks."

Zhou Fei didn't have any objections and hearing Li Jinrong's words, she casually reached towards her waist…and was met with nothing. She then remembered that her dao was lent as a walking stick to the weak-legged Li Yan at the cliff by the Xi Mo River. Having no other choice, she had to grab a temporary replacement that was around the same length from the weapon rack on the side just like Li Jinrong did.

Watching her, Ma Jili had a bad feeling and urged her hurriedly: "I won't replace them then, your brother took fifteen, one tore, there are still thirty-two left and that's enough for you. But your first move must be careful, choose wisely…"

Before he even finished speaking, he was scared speechless—what an audacious little girl, she headed straight towards Li Jinrong!

—

Xiu Shan Tang 秀山堂 or Xiu Shan Hall

Ma Jili 马吉利 or Ma zongguan 马总管

Wang lao furen 王老夫人

—

[1] Li Sheng is really polite here and uses the formal and respectful form of 'you', 您 nin. It's really hard to convey status and respect in the English 'you' and 'I/me/my' because in Chinese different 'you's and 'I/me/my's convey different statuses and/or intentions. Each time Ma Jili talks to Wang lao furen, he's using nin because she's an elder. This also applies to Li Sheng and Li Jinrong and etc. And then you have all the instances Xie Yun used different 'I/me/my's to express his lower status in previous chapters.

[2] 名牌 ming pai: 名 means name and 牌 means token. This is the same pai in lingpai, the "order token" from previous chapters. Mingpai is basically like an ID or name tag for the disciples. Side note: mingpai in this context is not to be confused with its modern "famous brand" definition.

[3] In ancient China, people would keep track of time through a different system. It's quite complicated but the time it takes to burn one incense stick is used as a measurement. I couldn't find a definitive period of time for one incense stick, but after searching the Internet, some said 30 minutes, some said 45 minutes, so it should be around that.

[4] In China (and many other cultures), uncle is also used as a general term for older men (like mister) and similarly, aunt is used as a general term for older women. The same applies to terms like grandma, grandpa, older/younger brother, older/younger sister. The "older" is determined by generation: ex. I may call an elder grandma, but my mom would call them aunt.

[5] 小子 xiao zi: an informal way of referring to young boys, just like how young girls are called 丫头 yatou.

[6] Ma Jili doesn't actually say you're kind here, the original text 说笑了 shuo xiao le would literally translate to laughing as one talks and can translate to you're joking . Contextually though, 说笑了 is used as polite talk similar to something like "you're flattering me". It has heavy cultural ties and to my knowledge, there's no English equivalent.

[7] 长幼有序 zhang you you xu: literally means: old; young; sequence/order. The actual meaning is that the young have to respect the old. In the chapter, Li Sheng isn't actually an elder or the like to Zhou Fei, so I felt like using the actual meaning would be a bit awkward in the text.

[8] The term originally used is 民间 min jian, which refers to where the common people live. The 48 Strongholds and its residents are of the Jiang Hu, so Zhou Fei was thinking that Ma Jili came from the normal outside. Folk was the best word I could find so…

[9] 穿花绕树 chuan hua rao shu: translates to Through Flowers and Around Trees. This is a fictional martial arts move that has its origins in a story, but now it is pretty widespread among other stories as well (as seen in its reference here).

[10] The reason why the Xiao Xiang Sect also used swords is because Li Sheng's weapon is called 短剑 duan jian, which literally means short sword. In English it would more or less be a dagger so the similarity between Li Sheng's 'short sword' and the Xiao Xiang Sect's swords are lost in translation.