Green Dragon Totem Chapter 6 Part2

Behind the hanging green gra.s.s blinds in the s.h.i.+p's hold, Chen Haiping turned his head, the laughter in his expression yet to fade, but surprise surfacing in his eyes.

Separated by the blue-green billowing waves, Xie Yun's brow rose slightly.

"Eldest Young Master, that miss on the opposite boat said…" the housekeeper had yet to finish, when Chen Haiping had already risen and left the s.h.i.+p's hold, replying in a mannerly fas.h.i.+on: "Does Miss have any instructions?"

Xie Yun did not bother to reply, giving a look towards the conical bamboo hat, the entire meaning being I told you to pick it up, no nonsense needed.

Chen Haiping respectfully replied: "Since Miss has commanded it, I must naturally carry out the request." So saying he leapt forward towards the water!

At that time there were several zhang between the two boats, yet Chen Haiping rode the air high into the sky with one leap, one leg steadily tapping on the water surface, stooping to scoop up the conical bamboo hat, before he flew across ― truly the direct disciple of the Jiangnan Chen family's art honed over centuries, his internal and mental technique were indeed outstanding, and within the martial arts circles at present, those with lightness skill which could match this would not exceed five people.

"Good!"

The surrounding boats immediately roared as a crowd, as Chen Haiping leapt as he approached the boat, this time landing onto this little boat of Xie Yun's with extreme precision, his landing extremely steady, to the point that the boat did not even rock a bit!

"Miss," Chen Haiping elegantly handed over the conical bamboo hat: "This Chen has fortunately concluded the mission without disgrace, may Miss please accept this."

Xie Yun's injured hand did not move, so he used the other hand to reach for the conical bamboo hat, but immediately after Chen Haiping pulled it back, sincerely asking: "This gauze of Miss is of excellent texture, and able to hide your jade face, only today it has been saturated in water, and probably cannot be used anymore. How about I take it home to wash it clean and iron it before I return it to Miss's residence, only may I request to know Miss's name and surname, as well as the whereabouts of your home? If it is not far…"

"Eldest Young Master Chen has praised too much," Xie Yun lazily said, "I bought the gauze by a street-stall, one for two cash1, it can be discarded if it cannot be used anymore."

Chen Haiping: "…"

Chen Haiping's smile did not change, "Why is Miss's hand wrapped in a bandage, is it injured? Not to keep it a secret but my humble home is currently entertaining a few famous physicians of the Jianghu, they can treat such physical injuries as well as various incurable and ineradicable diseases. Such a small injury would heal in half a month, if Miss would not look down upon this…"

"I do."

Chen Haiping froze right there and then, as Xie Yun leant his head back, looking at him in ridicule.

For some reason Chen Haiping suddenly felt that this woman before him may be beautiful, yet the outline of the facial features had some hardness, and the comportment had an elegant demeanour which was hard to describe, being completely different from the daughters of normal families, as if there was something fishy going on.

He doubted in his heart, so he awkwardly continued to ask: "This… Miss has a good mood, why would you tour the lake alone here?"

Xie Yun replied: "The weather is good, and this miss is bored."

As he said the word 'miss' he could not help but stumble a bit, following which he smiled.

This smile seemed to dim even the waters under the sunlight, and Chen Haiping's heart failed his expectations and skipped a few beats, and it was already too late when he finally reacted:

"Miss, I am the legitimate oldest son2 of the Jiangnan Chen family, with property of fertile land numbering in thousands of qing3 and family wealth numbering in the myriads of strings4, having already come of age yet still unmarried, dare I ask where is Miss's homeland, and if Miss has already married, seeing if I am suitable… will that be appropriate?"

Xie Yun's line of sight glanced towards the sh.o.r.e, where the silhouette of a black monk robe was carrying bundles of medicine, striding from the bridge to approach.

"Appropriate," Xie Yun smiled and turned towards Chen Haiping, speaking with regret: "Yet this… miss is already married."

Chen Haiping started: "Married to whom?"

Xie Yun's smile seemed to brim with a particularly sincere tenderness:

"Married to a monk."

Chen Haiping had yet to react, when Xie Yun raised his voice and shouted: "Help―" and then gracefully arose, dropping straight into the water!

A splash echoed, and Shan Chao threw himself to the side of the bridge, yelling: "Miss Long!"

Chen Haiping raised his head to see a genuine monk, and immediately started, before he reacted and leapt into the water to save a drowner ― yet at this time the waters rippled with another splash, Shan Chao had already dived in, and was speedily cutting through the splashes as he swam towards Xie Yun, extending a st.u.r.dy arm to hug him from behind.

Chen Haiping also swam close, and had yet to extend a hand in a.s.sistance, before he saw the young monk in black furrow his thick das.h.i.+ng eyebrows, and raised his hands in a palm strike!

― Hong!

A young expert of his generation like Chen Haiping, did not even have time to raise his qi to withstand it, before a depressed sound echoed in his ears, and then acute pain twinged in his sternum, his qi and blood shaking, as his entire person flew several zhang against the stream!

This was simply too scary.

Attacking in the water, the splashes would be bigger the thinner the user's internal force, yet that palm strike just now did not even have the least splash, only a fan-shaped wave with that monk as the centre, spreading out rapidly across the entire lake surface, its radius being a dozen or more zhang!

A bewildered Chen Haiping flew into a rage, resisting his internal injury with great difficulty to crawl ash.o.r.e, only to see Shan Chao carry a soaking wet and fiercely coughing Xie Yun in a complete mess up, and then look back and kick out.

Splas.h.!.+

In this splash which splattered everywhere, was actually Chen Haiping being solidly kicked into the water.

"Where did this wild monk come from… cough-cough! Cough-cough-cough!" Chen Haiping was indignant and a sorry figure, wanting to settle accounts with Shan Chao after climbing ash.o.r.e, only to see Shan Chao take off his monk's gown to drape over the prostrate and coughing Xie Yun, before he turned around, raising his hand towards Chen Haiping to push out.

"―you!"

That palm had the force of a guardian deity, bearing down with the weight of Mt Tai, Chen Haiping tried to resist it in his rage, yet his internal force had yet to touch the other, before he felt it was as if a surging river had met the vast ocean, instantly pressing him back into the water!

"Young Master!" "What kind of person? Stop!" "This monk from nowhere is foolhardy, still not releasing him!"

The pleasure boat quickly pulled to sh.o.r.e, and a dozen or more guards quickly disembarked to hurry over. Shan Chao crouched on the sh.o.r.e, one hand picking up Chen Haiping by the lapel, towering above as he coldly said: "Why take liberties with respectable women?"

"…" Chen Haiping was stupefied: "Who are you anyway, you―"

The veins on the back of Shan Chao's hand bulged, and with a crash he forcibly pressed the eldest Young Master Chen into the water, lifting him again after a moment: "Why take liberties with respectable women?"

"Cough-cough-cough! Cough-cough-cough…." Chen Haiping was stuck in a dilemma, cursing as water dripped from his head and face: "Which d.a.m.n mountain and which temple do you belong to, someday if this young grandpa5 meets―"

Cras.h.!.+

Shan Chao lifted Chen Haiping from the water for the last time, gazing at his eyes, to speak calmly and without stress:

"Only those who are carrying a vendetta and yet unable to defeat the other, would ask for the other's name, those who can win all just leave after the fight."

Chen Haiping had been a legitimate son6 from an aristocratic family since childhood, and after he grew up he was the foremost young hero of the martial arts circles, so throughout his life he had never been in a situation as difficult as the present, becoming extremely indignant upon hearing what was said: "Where did this bald donkey7 come out from to mind this old man8? This old man saw a beauty so can't I strike up a conversation? A modest young lady is a gentleman's good mate9, where is it wrong―?!"

His tone had yet to finish when Chen Haiping started.

He glimpsed that woman ― Xie Yun wiped off the water from his face, turning around to look at Shan Chao and smile.

At this moment Shan Chao had his back to Xie Yun, so he did not see that smile at all. Yet Chen Haiping was extremely certain that that smile had something extremely familiar, a joy laced with ridicule so familiar it almost seemed ridiculous.

If it truly required description, it was like in his youth when he lay on firewood and tasted gall10 to train in an exceptional sword manual, or when his martial skill had significant improvement, and after he amazed the world with one brilliant feat on the martial stage in high spirits, the elders off-stage giving gratified yet slightly mocking smiles.

And then Xie Yun glanced towards Chen Haiping, raising his eyebrow ―

Their four eyes met, and in the beauty's eyes was undisguised sympathy and mischief.

Chen Haiping: "……"

"―my younger brother has been licentious beyond belief, and has offended this Master, I do offer apologies on his behalf, may this Master do forgive me by all means!"

Within the huge encirclement of people there suddenly came a male voice, and Chen Haiping abruptly raised his head, his expression souring: "C…. Cousin11!"

Shan Chao turned his head, to see the crowd part to form a way, and a few servants carried an unusual bamboo chair, slowly walking from the Chen family boat.

A man sat upright on the bamboo chair, in his late twenties, with mediocre looks and a sickly complexion, as if clumsy in movement, yet his expression was very modest and mild; he grasped the chair's armrests, using this force to half-rise forward and convey a salute, and then raised his head to give a concerned look towards Xie Yun: "Is Miss alright? My younger brother is preposterous, having agitated yourself, I do not know whether or not…"

"Yes."

Xie Yun sat up lazily on the floor, tilting his head, both hands twisting his long hair to squeeze water out. He was extremely calm and tranquil under everyone's eyes: "Your honourable little brother Young Master Chen saw that I was on my own, and then began to speak and take liberties, this… this young miss was truly helpless, with no choice but to dive into the water to preserve myself."

"This Master Xin Chao is my companion, and seeing Young Master Chen speaking conceited nonsense without the slightest scruple, this Master thus undertook the task to teach him a small lesson, may this young master forgive it."

The surrounding ma.s.ses anxiously in wait finally made a satisfied: "Oh―"

The man on the bamboo chair was somewhat embarra.s.sed, looking at Chen Haiping and then looking at Shan Chao, not quite daring to look straight at this rather intimidating 'miss' on the ground, before he lowered his head and tilted his upper body: "I truly did not expect for such a thing to happen, and I apologise that Miss has been startled. Your humble servant12 Fu Wenjie, who lives at the Sword-Forging Manor, is this skirt-chaser's maternal cousin…"

"If this Miss and Master do not mind, we would be honoured if you were to have a short rest at my humble home, would it not be better to change into dry and clean clothes?"

In a flash a dialogue flashed through Shan Chao's mind:

"I heard a rumour in the Jianghu about the Snow Lotus Valley, and the Sword-Forging Manor, that a hundred years ago they pulled the water of the Snow Lotus from the Tianshan mountains, in order to forge the two swords Longyuan and Tai-E…"

"The one that kills you here today, is the Seven Stars Longyuan."

Shan Chao abruptly got up, and Chen Haiping who had lost his support nearly slipped and crashed into the water again.

"―where did you say your home was?"

"Replying to this Master," Fu Wenjie faced Shan Chao's keen and pressing gaze, speaking in shame: "I am untalented, being the Young Master of what the Jianghu addresses as the 'Sword-Forging Manor'."

1 ZH: 文 - The cash (文 wén) was a currency denomination used in China in imperial times. It was the chief denomination until the introduction of the yuan in the late 19th century.

2 ZH: 嫡传长子 - this implies that the Chen family are a sect of their own, with family martial arts, and that Chen Haiping is the 'oldest son' or oldest male disciple in this tradition which has been legitimately handed down from the founder to the direct disciples. In this situation, there is also a correlation of legitimacy and inheritance; that is, Chen Haiping is the oldest legitimate son of the current Chen patriarch and thus next in line to inherit leaders.h.i.+p of this martial arts school.

3 ZH: 顷 - unit of area of land, roughly equal to 6.67 hectares

4 ZH: 贯 guàn - related to cash, or wen. One string is usually roughly about 1,000 cash, but since the people stringing the cash usually claim a few coins for labour, the actual number of cash in one string varies.

5 ZH: 小爷 - first-person p.r.o.noun used by young men, usually arrogantly.

6 ZH: 嫡子 - see Dishu system.

7 ZH: 秃驴 - derogatory term for monks.

8 ZH: 大爷 - first-person p.r.o.noun, used similarly to 小爷 earlier.

9 ZH: 窈窕淑女君子好逑 - from the Book of Songs.

10 ZH: 卧薪尝胆 - idiom, figuratively meaning 'suffering patiently, but firmly resolved on revenge'

11 ZH: 表兄 - older male cousin via female line.

12 ZH: 鄙人 - first-person p.r.o.noun, used by young men - used for humility, not really indicating servant status.

Translator's notes Chapter 6: Tang dynasty Money

The chief trouble in this chapter was not the appellations for family relations, nor the tricky descriptions, and not even the sudden string of ancient poetry. It was money.

'Cash' here I use in the sense to refer to the copper coin, the kind with a hole in the middle, the hole being usually square or round.

'String' is a string of cash, one string ≈ 990 to 970 coins after service deduction.

'Tael' refers to an ingot weighed by silver. Gold ingots still outrank silver in this system, and I have to keep in mind that silver has yet to be used to pay taxes like it would be in Ming and Qing China. For now taxes are still in rice, coppers and brocades.

- LLS

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