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发信人: dantao (涛涛), 信区: Emprise
标 题: 书剑恩仇录3-2
发信站: 紫 丁 香 (Wed Jul 29 15:52:33 1998), 转信
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发信人: gallstone (gallstone), 信区: Emprise
标 题: 英译《书剑恩仇录》(三)之(2)
发信站: BBS 水木清华站 (Sun Jun 29 02:58:13 1997)
** 2 **
'Scholar' Yu, under orders to investigate the whereabouts of
Wen Tailai, made discreet enquiries along the road as he went.
But he discovered no clues, and in less than a day arrived at
Liangzhou, a prosperous busy city and one of the largest in
Gansu province. He found a room in an inn, then went to a
tavern and drank alone, bemoaning his fate. He thought of Luo
Bing's voice and smile, and a tide of longing rose within him.
He knew it was hopeless, and the more he drank, the more
melancholy he became. He was just about to leave when two men
came in. Yu knew he had seen one of them before and quickly
turned his head away. He thought frantically and placed him as
one of the Yamen officers he had fought at Iron Gall Manor.
Luckily, the man and his companion paid no attention to him.
They chose a table near the window which happened to be just
next to Yu's and sat down. Yu sat with his head on the table,
pretending to be drunk.
The two men chatted for a while, then one said:
"Brother Rui, it's remarkable How you captured that fellow. I
wonder what sort of reward the Emperor will give you?"
"I'm not concerned about the reward," Rui replied. "If we can
get him to Hangzhou nice and safely, I'll be happy. When we
left Beijing, there were eight of us bodyguards, and now I'm
the only one left. It was that fight in Suzhou. I'm not
selling myself short, but I still get the shivers just
thinking about it."
"You're with Master Zhang now," the other said. "I'm sure
nothing more will be wrong."
"That's true," Rui replied. "But it means that the Imperial
Guardsmen get all the credit. What do we Imperial Bodyguards
get out of it? But tell me, old Zhu. What are they doing
sending him to Hangzhou instead of to Beijing?"
"My younger sister is from the family of Great Scholar Shi, as
you know," Zhu replied, lowering his voice. "She told me
quietly that the Emperor plans to go down south. Perhaps he
wants to question him himself."
Rui grunted and drank a mouthful of wine. "So the six of you
rushed out from Beijing to see that the Imperial command was
complied with?"
"And to give the rest of you some help. The Red Flower Society
is very powerful in the south. We have to be especially
careful."
As he listened, Yu groaned inwardly at the sheer luck of it
all. If he had not happened to be there and hear them, the Red
Flower Society heroes would have been racing to Beijing to
save Wen when he was really being taken to Hangzhou.
"Brother Rui," Zhu said. "Exactly what crime has this fellow
committed that the Emperor wants to question him personally?"
"How would we know?" Rui replied. "We were just told that if
we didn't catch him, we would all be removed from our posts. I
just hope I can keep my head on my shoulders."
The two laughed and drank, and their conversation turned to
the subject of women. Finally, they paid the bill and stood up
to leave. Rui looked over at Yu prostrate on the table.
"Scholars," he said and laughed harshly. "Three cups of wine
and they can't even walk."
Yu waited until they had gone, then hastily threw five silver
coins onto the table and dashed out of the tavern. He spotted
the men entering the city Yamen. He waited for a long time but
didn't see them re-appear, and decided they must be lodging
there.
He returned to his room and as soon as it was dark, he changed
into a set of dark clothes, stuck his golden flute into his
belt then ran over to the Yamen. Making his way round to the
back, he clambered over the wall.
All was pitch black in the courtyard except for a shaft of
light coming from a window in the eastern hall, and as he
crept closer, he heard voices coming from inside. He wet the
tip of his finger with a drop of saliva, then lightly
moistened the window paper and made a small hole. Looking
through, he started in fright.
The hall was full of people. Zhang Zhaozhong was seated in the
middle with the bodyguards and Yamen officers on either side
of him. A man standing with his back to Yu cursed angrily, and
he knew from his voice that it was Wen Tailai.
"You can curse to your heart's content," a voice off to the
side said darkly. "I may not be as proficient in the martial
arts as you, but you will still get a taste of my hand."
Yu was distressed. "They are going to humiliate Fourth
Brother," he thought. "He is the person Fourth Sister respects
and loves most. How can I allow him to be insulted by these
villains?"
He saw a tall, thin middleaged man wearing a blue gown
advancing on Wen with his hand raised. Just as the man was
about to strike Wen, Yu inserted his flute through the hole in
the window paper, and with a puff, shot a small arrow into the
man's left eye.
The man fell to the ground in agony and there was a moment of
confusion in the hall. Yu shot another arrow into the right
cheek of one of the bodyguards, then kicked open the main door
of the hall and ran straight in.
"Don't move!" he shouted. "The Red Flower Society has come to
the rescue!"
He raised his flute and struck the Yamen officers beside Wen,
then pulled a dagger from his legwrappings and cut the ropes
binding Wen's hands and feet.
Zhang Zhaozhong thought a largescale attack was in progress
and immediately drew his sword and went to the hall door to
prevent Wen and Yu from escaping and those outside from
getting in.
As soon as Wen's hands were free of the bonds, his spirits
surged. An Imperial Bodyguard lunged towards him and Wen
struck him hard with his fist, sending him reeling away. The
others were so afraid of Wen's power that for a while they did
not dare to get too close to him.
"Fourth Brother, let's get out!" Yu said.
"Are the others here?"
"No," Yu replied quietly. "There's only me."
Wen nodded once. The wounds on his right arm and thigh had not
yet healed, but he ran for the door with his right arm resting
on Yu's shoulder.
Zhang strode foward a step. "Stop!" he shouted, and jabbed at
Wen's stomach with his long sword. Wen was slow on his feet,
so using attack as his defence, he struck out at his
opponent's eyes with the index and middle fingers of his left
hand, and Zhang was forced to retract his sword.
"Good!" he exclaimed. The two men were incredibly fast, but
Wen only had the use of his left arm and after a few more
moves, Zhang hit his right shoulder. Unable to keep his
balance, Wen sat down heavily on the floor.
"I shouldn't have done this," Yu thought as he fought off the
Imperial Bodyguards. "I will save Fourth Brother and then let
the Eagle's Claws kill me so that Fourth Sister will know that
I, Yu Yutong, am not an unchivalrous oaf."
He saw Wen fall to the ground and flipped round to strike out
desperately at Zhang.
"Fourth Brother, get out quick!" Yu shouted. Wen rested a
moment and then with difficulty clambered to his feet. The
golden flute flew and danced, completely neglecting to defend
or parry. Yu was completely unconcerned about his own safety.
Even with his superb swordsmanship, Zhang was forced to move
back several paces in the face of his suicidal attack. Wen saw
an opening and shot out of the door, with the mob of the
bodyguards and officers howling after him.
Yu blocked them at the door, ignoring his own safety.
"Don't you want to live?" Zhang shouted. "Who taught you that
kung fu style?" Yu was using the traditional style of the
Wudang School, the school to which Zhang belonged, and Zhang
had so far spared him because of it.
"It would be best if you killed me," Yu said, smiling sadly.
After a few more moves, Zhang's sword struck him once more,
this time on the right shoulder, so Yu shifted the golden
flute to his left hand and continued the fight without
retreating a step.
The mass of the bodyguards charged forward again and Yu's
flute danced, hooting strangely as the wind whipped through
it. A bodyguard chopped at him with his sword, and gashed Yu's
shoulder. His body was now covered in blood, but he continued
the fierce battle, and there was a sudden crack as the jawbone
of another bodyguard was shattered. The bodyguards pressed
forward, knives, swords, whips and clubs all thrusting towards
Yu simultaneously. Yu's thigh was hit by a club and he fell to
the ground. His golden flute kept up its dance for a few
moments, then he fainted away.
There was a sudden shout from the door: "Stop!"
The bodyguards turned and saw Wen walking slowly back into the
hall. He ignored them and went straight over to Yu. Seeing his
bloodied body, he couldn't stop his tears. He bent down and
was relieved to find Yu was till breathing.
"Treat his wounds quickly," he ordered.
The bodyguards were so fearful of his power, that they did as
he said. Wen watched them bind Yu's wounds and carry him
through to the inner hall, then placed both of his hands
behind his back.
"Tie me up," he said. One of the bodyguards looked over at
Zhang, then walked slowly over.
"What are you afraid of?" Wen asked. "If I was going to hurt
you, I would have done so long ago."
The bodyguard bound his hands and took him back to the
dungeons. Two bodyguards were left to guard him.
Early the next morning, Zhang went to see Yu and found him in
a deep sleep. He was told by a guard that the doctor had
visited Yu and prescribed some medicine. Zhang visited him
again in the afternoon and Yu appeared to be more alert.
"Is your teacher surnamed Lu or Ma?" Zhang asked him.
"My teacher is surnamed Ma, his given name is Zhen."
"So that's it. I am your martial uncle, Zhang Zhaozhong."
Yu nodded slightly.
"Are you a member of the Red Flower Society?"
Yu nodded again.
"Such a nice young man," Zhang sighed. "What a pity that you
have fallen to such a state. What relation is Wen Tailai to
you? What were you doing risking your life to save him?"
Yu closed his eyes and was silent. A moment passed.
"In the end I did save him, so I can die in peace," he finally
said.
"Huh! Do you really think you could snatch him away from me?"
Yu was startled. "Didn't he escape?" he asked.
"How could he? Stop day-dreaming!"
Zhang tried to interrogate him, but Yu took no notice, and
after a while he began to sneeze.
Zhang smiled slightly. "You stubborn boy," he said, and left.
He ordered the Imperial Bodyguards to organise an ambush with
Wen as bait. After dinner, Wen was brought out of the dungeon
and interrogated once more, in the same manner as the night
before when Yu had unexpectedly burst in and disrupted the
proceedings. This time, however, heavily-armed troops were
hidden all around the Yamen, waiting to catch any Red Flower
Society rescuers. But they waited in vain.
The next morning, Zhang received a report that the waters of
the Yellow River were rising rapidly, and that the current at
the point where they intended to cross was very strong and
ordered an immediate departure. He had Wen and Yu placed in
separate carriages and was just about to start out when
Officer Wu and the Zhen Yuan Agency Lead Escorts raced into
the Yamen. Zhang hastily questioned them, and Officer Wu
breathlessly told him how they had been attacked and captured
by the Muslims and the Red Flower Society, and how Lead Escort
Yan had been killed by a young Muslim girl.
"Brother Yan was a very tough fighter," Zhang said.
"Extraordinary." He raised his hand. "We will meet again in
Beijing."
Zhang immediately went and told the Liangzhou Military
commander that he wanted four hundred crack troops transferred
to his command to help escort criminals wanted by the Emperor.
The commander did not dare refuse and also dispatched Colonel
Cao Neng and Chief-of-Staff Ping Wangxian to lead the
escorting soldiers until they reached Lanzhou, the provincial
capital, where provincial troops would take over.
Zhang's column surged out of the town, stealing and pilfering
from the common people in the usual way as they went.
They travelled without incident for two days. Then, about ten
miles from a village named Twin Wells, they came upon two
bare-breasted men sitting beneath a tree by the side of the
road with a pair of fine horses standing nearby. Two of the
soldiers went over.
"Hey!" one shouted. "These two horses look like official
horses. Where did you steal them from?"
"We are peaceful citizens," said one of the men. "We wouldn't
dare to steal horses."
"We are tired of walking. Lend them to us," the second soldier
replied.
The two men stood up, walked over to their horses and untied
the reins.
The soldiers walked haughtily over and were just about to take
hold of the reins when the two men kicked their behinds, leapt
onto the horses and galloped over to one of the carriages.
"Is Fourth Brother in there?" one shouted.
"Ah, Twelfth Brother!" Wen answered.
"Fourth Brother, we're leaving," the man replied. "But don't
worry, we'll be back to rescue you soon."
The two men galloped away before the carriage's guards could
attack.
The column lodged that night at a town called Clear Water
Shop. Early the following morning, while most of the soldiers
were still asleep, a scream was heard, and there was a moment
of confusion. The two troop commanders, Cao and Ping went to
investigate and found the bodies of more than a dozen soldiers
lying where they had slept, each with a gaping gash in the
chest. There was no indication of who had killed them.
The next evening, they rested at Hengshi. This was a large
town, and the column filled three inns and many private houses
besides. During the night, one of the inns caught fire. Zhang
ordered the bodyguards to guard Wen and to heed nothing else
in order to avoid being tricked. The flames rose higher and
higher.
"Bandits!" Cao Neng cried as he ran into Zhang's room.
"They're attacking!"
"Please go and direct operations yourself, General Cao," Zhang
replied. "I am unable to leave this place."
Cao nodded and left.
From outside the inn came the sound of screams and shrieks,
galloping horses, the crackle of the flames and the smash of
roof tiles as they hit the ground. Zhang ordered two
bodyguards onto the roof to keep watch, but told them not to
get involved unless the enemy attacked the inn. The fire did
not get out of control, and before long it was extinguished.
The agitated clamour continued for a while, then gradually
died down to the point where the sound of hooves could be
heard as horses galloped off eastwards.
Cao, his face covered in soot, grease and blood, ran in to see
Zhang again.
"The bandits have retreated," he reported.
"How many of our men have been killed and wounded?" Zhang
asked.
"I don't know yet. Several...several dozen."
"How many bandits were captured?"
Cao's mouth fell open. After a moment, he said: "None."
Zhang grunted.
"Their faces were covered with cloth, and their kung fu was
horrendous," Cao added. "But it's very strange, they didn't
steal anything. All they did was kill our brothers. Just
before they left, they threw down two hundred taels of silver
for the innkeeper saying it was compensation for starting the
fire."
"So you think they were bandits, do you?" Zhang said. "Tell
everyone to get some rest, General Cao. We will start out
early tomorrow."
Cao retired and went to see the innkeeper, whom he accused of
being in collusion with the bandits and responsible for the
murder of the soldiers. The innkeeper kowtowed and begged for
mercy and finally gave Cao the two hundred taels of silver.
The next day, the soldiers were busy until noon before finally
making a start. They passed through beautiful country of blue
hills and green water, surrounded by dense vegetation on all
sides. After travelling for about four hours, the road began
to grow gradually steeper and high peaks rose on either side.
A horse came galloping down the road towards them and halted
about ten paces in front of the column.
"Listen to me, all of you," the rider called out. "You have
offended the demons. Turn back quickly and you will be spared.
If you continue eastwards, each one of you Turtles will surely
die."
The soldiers shuddered as they looked at the man. He was
wearing clothes made of rough hemp bound at the waist with
grass rope. His face was pale yellow and his eyebrows slanted
upwards, just like the images of life-stealing spirits in the
temples. The man spurred his horse forward and galloped down
the mountain, passing beside of the column, and was gone.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers in the rear-guard gave a cry,
and fell to the ground, dead. The rest started in fright and
gathered round to look, but there was no wound visible on his
body. Terrified, they all began talking at once.
Cao Neng assigned two soldiers to stay behind and bury the
dead man and the column continued up the mountain. Before they
had gone very far, another horse approached them from in
front, its rider the same man they had seen earlier.
"Listen to me, all of you," he called out. "You have offended
the demons. Turn back quickly and you will be spared. If you
continue eastwards, each one of you Turtles will surely die."
The soldiers wondered fearfully how the man could have made
his way round in front of them again. They had clearly seen
him go down the mountain and one glance confirmed that there
were no short cuts back up the slope. The man spurred his
horse forward and the soldiers shrunk from him as if he was a
real demon.
One of the Imperial bodyguards, named Zhu, stuck out his sword
to obstruct the man. "Slow down, friend," he said.
The man struck Zhu's shoulder with his right hand, and the
sword clattered to the ground. Then he sped off down the
mountain. As he passed the end of the column, the last soldier
gave a shriek and fell to the ground, dead. The other soldiers
stood staring foolishly, scared out of their wits.
Zhang went down to the end of the column to investigate.
"What is this fellow, a man or a ghost?" Zhu said. He pressed
his wounded right shoulder, his face deathly pale. Zhang told
him to undo his clothes and examined the large black swelling
on his right shoulder. He ordered the troops to strip the dead
soldier bare and examine him for wounds. When they turned him
over, they found a similar black swelling on his back from
which the shape of a hand could be vaguely discerned. The
soldiers broke into an uproar as a shout of "The Demon's
Mark!" The Demon's Mark!" went up. Zhang ordered that two
soldiers be left behind to bury the dead man. Two were chosen
from the ranks, but even when threatened with death, they
refused to carry out the order. Zhang had no alternative but
to order a halt and wait until the body was buried before
continuing.
"Master Zhang, this fellow is very strange," said Bodyguard
Rui. "How could he pass us by and then make his way back in
front of us again?"
Zhang stood deep in thought for a while. "Brother Zhu and the
two soldiers were obviously victims of Black Sand Palm Kung
Fu," he said. "There are very few masters of Black Sand Palm
kung fu in the underworld."
"If it's Black Palm kung fu, then the best is naturally the
Taoist Priest Hui Lu, but he's been dead for many years," Rui
said. "Could it be that his spirit has re-appeared?"
Zhang slapped his thigh. "That's it! That's it!" he cried.
"They're Hui Lu's pupils. The Twin Knights that people call
Black Death and White Death. I was trying to think of one
person, so I couldn't work it out. All right, so we're up
against them as well."
He had no way of knowing that the Chang brothers were also
members of the Red Flower Society.
That night, the column stayed at Black Pine Village. Cao
posted guards all around the village to keep careful watch,
but next morning, not one of the soldiers on guard duty
returned to report, and a detail sent to investigate found
them all dead with a string of paper money tied round each of
their necks. The rest of the soldiers were terrified, and more
than a dozen immediately deserted, slipping stealthily away.
They had to cross Black Scabbard Mountain, one of the most
precipitous spots on the Liangzhou road. The air became colder
and colder as the road grew steeper, and despite the fact that
it was only September, snow flakes floated down around them.
The road deteriorated to the point where there was a steep
mountain face on one side and a sheer cliff on the other
falling into a deep ravine. The soldiers moved slowly
hand-in-hand, terrified of slipping on the snow. Several of
the bodyguards dismounted and helped to support Wen's
carriage.
Just as they were gingerly making their way forward, they
heard a chirping sound coming from in front. A moment later,
the sound turned into an unearthly howl, tragic and harsh,
which echoed through the ravine causing everyone's hair to
stand on end. The soldiers all stopped in their tracks.
Then came a shout: "Those who continue will meet the King of
Hell -- Those who turn back will survive."
How could the soldiers dare to continue?
A man appeared around a curve in the road ahead. "Those who
continue will meet the King of Hell, those who turn back will
survive," he intoned in a deep voice.
The soldiers recognised him as the demon that had appeared
twice the day before and had killed with just a wave of his
hand, and they turned and fled with squeals of fear. Cao Neng
shouted to them to halt, but he had to raise his sword and
slay one of the soldiers before some of them steadied. But
sixty or seventy had disappeared.
"Guard the carriage," Zhang said to Rui. "I'll go and talk to
these two." He leapt passed the soldiers. "Could that be the
Twin Knights up ahead?" he asked in a loud, clear voice. "I,
Zhang Zhaozhong, greet you. There is no enmity between us. Why
are you playing this game?"
The man in front laughed coldly. "Ha! So, the Twin Demons meet
the Fire Hand Judge," he said. He strode over and struck out
at Zhang with such power that his hand made a whistling sound
as it cut through the air.
The road at that point was extremely narrow and Zhang was
unable to dodge to either left or right, so he countered the
blow with his left hand, putting all of his Inner Strength
behind it, while also attacking with his right palm. His
opponent parried with his left hand. Their four hands met, and
they stood almost motionless for a while as they tested each
other. Suddenly, Zhang swept his left leg cross-wise in the
'Level Clouds Slicing The Peak' style. With insufficient time
to evade the blow, the man brought his hands together and
drove them viciously at Zhang's temples. Zhang leant to one
side and hastily withdrew his leg, then moved forward, and
with the precipice at their side, the two passed each other
by. They had exchanged positions.
Zhang suddenly became aware of someone attacking him from
behind. He dodged out of the way and saw his assailant was
another pale, skeleton-like figure, his face exactly the same
as the first.
Zhang had more than two hundred soldiers and bodyguards with
him, but they were powerless to assist because of the
narrowness of the mountain path beside the ravine.
The three fought more and more fiercely. In the midst of the
battle, one of the Twin Knights hit the rock-face by mistake
and a small avalanche of gravel rattled down off the precipice
followed by a slab of rock which plunged into the ravine. A
long time passed before they finally heard the distant crash
as it hit the ground.
The battle continued for a long time. Suddenly, one of the
twins struck out with his fist, forcing Zhang to move to one
side to avoid it. The other twin then leapt over and occupied
Zhang's former position beside the stone-face and both
attacked him at the same moment, attempting to force him into
the ravine.
Zhang saw one of his attacker's legs sweeping forward and
stepped back a pace, so that half of his foot was over the
edge of the precipice. A cry of fright went up from the
troops. Then, Zhang felt a gust of wind as the other twin's
fist swung towards his face. Zhang was unable to retreat, and
knowing that there would be great strength behind the blow,
was also unable to counter it. If he did, his opponent would
simply be thrown back against the stone-face by the force of
the collision while he himself would certainly fall to his
death. So, with wisdom born of fear, he seized hold of his
attacker's wrist, and with a great shout threw him into the
ravine.
His body in mid-air, 'Black Death' stayed calm. He drew in his
legs and performed a somersault in order to slow down the
force of his fall. Half way through the circle, he pulled a
Flying Claw grapple from his belt and threw it straight up.
His brother 'White Death' had also taken out his Flying Claw
and the two grapples locked tightly, almost as if they were
shaking hands. 'White Death' jerked at the rope before the
full force of his brother's fall returned, and swung him up
and over bringing him back to earth more than a hundred feet
along the mountain path.
'White Death' saluted Zhang with his fists. "Your kung fu is
very powerful. We are impressed," he said. Then, without even
bending down to concentrate his strength, he sprang into the
air, and landed several dozen feet further away. He grabbed
hold of his brother's hand and the two disappeared round the
bend.
The soldiers clustered round, some praising Zhang's kung fu,
others lamenting that 'Black Death' had not fallen to his
death. Zhang said not a word, but leaned against the rock face
and slowly sat down. He looked at his wrist and saw the
jet-black impression of five fingers on his flesh as if he had
been branded, and was struck by a wave of terror.
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