Chapter 5: Gan Tang Part 1

"The struggles of a kunpeng caught in the shallows, the pain of a canglong with a snapped horn, us river carp cannot understand. Xiansheng, there's no point in discussing the cold with summer insects."

The oil lamp flickered and Zhou Fei rubbed her eyes. Seeing that it was already getting light outside, she lifted her hand and turned off the lamp. The ink in the yantai [1] had already dried up and she was too lazy to add water to it. Using some of the mud-like black traces, she carelessly finished "painting" the remaining paragraph of family teachings. The worn brush nearly shed its hairs from her ravaging.

Last night, she and Li Sheng were carried out of the Xi Mo River by Li Jinrong. Zhou Fei had thought that even if she didn't die, she would've shed a layer of skin. Contrary to her expectations, Li Jinrong didn't actually do anything. She only hurriedly ordered people to lock them up to reflect on their mistakes. After they each copied the family teachings two hundred times, the matter would be settled.

Unable to be touched by the wind and sun, not hurting or itching, able to lay down whenever she desired. This kind of "blessing" was something Zhou Fei would normally never receive. It was more like this when Li Yan had done something wrong.

With horrendous handwriting and little effort, Zhou Fei finished copying the family teachings before midnight. Afterwards, holding the disheveled brush in her mouth, she laid back on a small couch off to the side, repeatedly thinking about the events last night. Because of Li Sheng's delay, Li Jinrong ultimately could not chase after Xie Yun herself, allowing him to successfully escape.

Zhou Fei guessed that the reason why she could still soundly relax in her room was probably 80% due to that Xie gongzi—Da Dang Jia wanted to capture him, but it seemed like she was afraid to make it widely known, which made Da Dang Jia unable to punish her and Li Sheng in a public way. She must've been afraid to alarm somebody. After much thought, Zhou Fei felt that if she was harshly beaten up, the only one who would be "alarmed" would probably be her father. With that thought, she began to think more and more that her father was the familiar-sounding "Gan Tang Xiansheng" that Xie Yun spoke of.

But who would come and ask for her father?

From when Zhou Fei could remember, Zhou Yitang never left through the main door and never stepped out of the secondary door. He usually didn't meet with any outsiders either. All year round, other than being sick, he would stay in in the courtyard reading books, occasionally playing the guqin. [2] He even wanted to teach some xiaobei (juniors)…but unfortunately, even including Li Sheng, the ba-zi of the three of them didn't include any effete and sentimental writings. Listening to the sound of the guqin, they played with their fingers and yawned.

The Sun Xiansheng that caused Zhou Fei to get beaten up was a pedantic scholar. Her father was not pedantic, but he was at most only a knowledgeable scholar. Other than being sickly, he didn't have any other distinctive characteristics. Could he have some extraordinary origin? Zhou Fei first thought about the immensely strong "Qian Ji" in the Xi Mo River, then recalled Xie gongzi's mysterious qinggong, then had too many questions. At the same time, she automatically inserted her father's face into the one hundred and eight legends of the Jiang Hu, imagining seven-eight incredulous stories of love and hatred.

In the end, she couldn't stay on the couch any longer and climbed off, looking out the window. The current time was early morning, the time when people were the most tired. The disciples that were guarding her were wearily dozing off. After some thought, Zhou Fei searched for a pair of shoes, throwing one under the desk and throwing the other at the foot of her bed. She pulled down the bed curtain and formed her blanket into the shape of a person. She also piled the family teachings she spent the night writing on her desk, creating the appearance of having reflected for a night and currently sleeping under the covers. She then jumped up onto the beams of her room (the beams in the "ceiling" that supported the roof), familiarly removed a few loose tiles and left without anyone noticing.

Just as Zhou Fei was about to leap onto roofs and vault over walls, she heard a quiet noise from nearby. She lifted her head and looked—oh wow, she wasn't the only gentleman on the roof. [3]

With a courtyard between them, Zhou Fei and Li Sheng, who was on the other roof, looked at each other in surprise. After a while, they both turned their heads and pretended they didn't see each other, each heading in their own direction.

Zhou Fei went to where Zhou Yitang was and looked at it from far away, not daring to get close—with her many years of experience from her battle of wits with Li Jinrong, she felt that it was impossible that her mother didn't take precautions. Patiently, she investigated around the area. As she expected, there were people lying in ambush in the bamboo forest behind the courtyard and under the bridge in front of the courtyard.

Zhou Yitang's courtyard was very quiet. At this time, he probably hadn't gotten up yet. Just as Zhou Fei was vacillating about how to get in, she suddenly heard a series of bird chirps. Located on the Shu Mountain, the 48 Strongholds experienced spring all year round and the flowers and leaves never withered. Hence, it wasn't surprising to hear birds chirping. At first, Zhou Fei didn't pay attention but unexpectedly, the bird chirps got closer and closer, showing no signs of stopping. She was agitated by the sound and thought about knocking down that annoying flat-feathered beast with a pebble. She turned around, but instead saw Xie Yun looking at her as he sat in a large tree with a smile on his face.

Li Jinrong had spent the entire day searching everywhere for Xie Yun and it probably wasn't a pleasant experience. His outer robes were ripped and the lower hem was cut off; his hair was messy and there were several leaves that still had dew on them on his head. There were several bloody cuts on his hands and neck and he was in an even sorrier state than last night in the Xi Mo River. However, he still had a relaxed and comfortable smile on his face, as if he wasn't worried about this kind of dangerous situation. Even these circumstances wouldn't delay his enjoying the early morning mountain view and a thirteen-fourteen young girl.

"You guys' 48 Strongholds sure is complex. I used all of my strength and finally found my way here." Xie Yun sighed, then waved at her, familiarly making conversation, "Xiao (little) guniang [4], are you the daughter of Li Da Dang Jia and Zhou Xiansheng?"

Zhou Fei was dumbfounded. Having always stayed in the Stronghold, Li Jinrong cultivated a "do what you need to do, if you have nothing to do then stop chatting about nonsense" personality into her. Among her generation, there were barely any people who she could hang out with and she was by herself most of the time. Not knowing if this Xie gongzi was an enemy or a friend, she didn't know how to reply and could only simply nod her head. After a while, she probed: "Do you have some enmity with my mother?"

"Of course not, when your mother retired into the 48 Strongholds I was still playing in the mud," Xie Yun fished out a segment of bamboo from somewhere, then pulled out a small knife, slowly peeling as he sat on the tree while talking to her at the same time: "Though she probably had some enmity with the old man Liang who entrusted me to deliver the letter, I don't really know the details…ai (sigh), he died without explaining things to me."

Zhou Fei asked: "Then what's your relation with him?"

"I have no relation with him. My [5] last name is Xie, my birth name is Yun, my courtesy name is Meimei [6], my titular name is 'Sir Open-minded' [7], and I had been someone who had nothing to do." Xie Yun said matter-of-factly, "That day I was fishing in the wild and that venerable old man came in a weak state to visit and honor a wild grave. After he paid his respects, he couldn't get up and lay on the ground crying. I only agreed to run errands for him when I felt sorry for him, seeing that he, an old man, was crying so hard."

Zhou Fei: "..."

She realized, this Xie gongzi, probably definitely had issues.

Zhou Fei asked incredulously: "Just because an old man was crying, you risked your life to charge into the 48 Strongholds for him?"

Xie Yun corrected: "Not because an old man cried, it was because Liang Shao cried—don't you know who Liang Shao is? Didn't your father ever tell you before?"

That name actually sounded kind of familiar to Zhou Fei and she probably had heard of him before, but Zhou Yitang had a gentle temper and talked a lot. When he began to talk about random topics, Zhou Fei always thought of it as an old monk reciting scriptures, listening through the left ear but the words leaving through the right. If she could comprehend one sentence out of ten, it was already really good. Either way, her father couldn't bear to punish her.

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Xie Yun explained: "When Cao Zhongkun seized the throne, Liang Shao travelled north to receive the young emperor, setting interlocking traps at Liang Huai. He rescued the young emperor right under the eyes of the 'Bei Dou Seven Stars' and heavily injured 'Tan Lang' (Hanker Wolf) and 'Wu Qu' (Martial Arts Song), he even lost his only son in order to do so. After that, he risked death again, single-handedly supporting the country in the Southern half. He would count as a…yes, a hero. When a hero has nowhere else to go, it's as if a mountain has collapsed. Wouldn't it hurt? Since I don't have any talents other than being quick on my feet, running an errand for him isn't anything much."

Listening to his words, Zhou Fei understood, but didn't actually understand. After some thought, she asked: "That whatever Seven Stars, are they strong?"

Xie Yun said: "Bei Dou—back then, after Cao Zhongkun seized the throne, there were many people who were unhappy and he didn't have the spare time to bring them under control one by one. And so he decided to just kill off the people he had disagreeable conversations with."

Zhou Fei had never heard such a simple and coarse explanation before and couldn't help but widen her eyes: "Ah?" (Like "Huh?")

"Of course, he couldn't kill them himself," Xie Yun continued, "But he had seven masters who worked under him. After they followed him, they were labelled with the name of Bei Dou, specifically serving and killing people for Cao Zhongkun. To say how strong they are…I'll put it this way. Your mother once led a group of very skilled people and charged into Bei Du to assassinate Cao Zhongkun and even three thousand imperial guards couldn't stop them. Back then, the fake emperor only had 'Lu Cun' (Save Emolument) and 'Wen Qu' (Writing and Song) out of the Bei Dou, but they were just able to protect Cao Zhongkun and escape. If the Seven Stars had all been assembled, then that time in Bei Du it likely wouldn't be someone 'risking their life to save someone'. What do you think about their strength?" (Refer back to the conversation between Yu Lao and Li Jinrong in Vol. 1 Chapter 3: Qian Ji – Part 1)

To Zhou Fei, this explanation was extremely convincing.

Because in her eyes, Li Jinrong was like a mountain. Every time she and Li Jinrong were at odds, she would go and work really hard at her techniques. There were 365 days in a year; based on that, she would spend around 364 days working really hard at her techniques. Every day when she fell asleep, she would dream of Da Dang Jia getting ready to whip her. However, she would be able to deftly remove the whip from her hands and throw it at her feet. After flashing a smile, she would swagger off…of course, it was still all a dream.

Zhou Fei would sometimes have an impression of never being able to surpass her mother. Each time, just as she felt like she caught up a bit, she would discover her mother coldly looking at her from even farther away.

Xie Yun took a breath, summarizing: "Now you understand right? Seeing a hero like Liang Shao lying down in the wild, crying so hard that he can't get up makes one as sad as seeing a beautiful xiao guniang like you no longer being youthful and growing old with white hair. Since I encountered him, I should be concerned."

Zhou Fei: "..."

No one dared to converse with Li Jinrong about family nonsense such as "Your daughter is so pretty and charming". To Zhou Fei, the elders would at most politely praise "Your daughter has the demeanor of Da Dang Jia back in the day". There's even less to say about those in her generation, even in a month they would barely talk. As a result, no one had ever said she was beautiful in front of her and for a moment, she was at a loss.

At this time, Xie Yun had already calmly carved a complete bamboo flute as he idly chatted with her. He lightly blew away the scraps and smiled mischievously at Zhou Fei, saying: "Hurry and run farther away, if you're captured by your mother, she'll hit your palms."

Zhou Fei asked in a rush: "What are you going to do?"

Xie Yun winked at her and lifted the bamboo flute up to his lips. He played some high and low notes and the bright sound of the flute instantly cut through the tranquility of the forest, causing the birds that were already awake to fly into the air. The green of the endless sea of bamboo was reflected in the eyes of the young man who sat in the tree. As the people who waited in ambush all rushed over and got closer, his flute notes gradually turned into a tune.

It was the song "Po Zhen Zi". (Break the Formation)

—

北斗七星 Bei Dou Qi Xing (Bei Dou Seven Stars) – Cao Zhongkun's seven masters that serve and kill people for him; bei dou qi xing is also the Big Dipper

贪狼 Tan Lang (Hanker Wolf)

武曲 Wu Qu (Martial Arts Song)

禄存 Lu Cun (Save Emolument)

文曲 Wen Qu (Writings and Song)

—

[1] 砚台 yan tai: an inkstone aka a stone mortar for the grinding and containment of ink. Here's a photo of it with a brush.

[2] 古琴 gu qin: a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument of the zither family. Here's a photo and a link to the Wikipedia page for more info.

[3] 梁上君子 liang shang jun zi: its meaning is 'gentleman on the roof' but it means a burglar. In my understanding, the literal meaning is used here as Zhou Fei and Li Sheng are both on roofs but not as thieves. Its implication is funny though.

[4] 姑娘 gu niang: as a refresher, it's a way of addressing young girls but in a generic way. No matter their status, young girls are all guniang.

[5] 小生 xiao sheng: a form of I/me/my that young scholars use

[6] 霉霉 mei mei: I'm pretty sure that Xie Yun is joking here as 霉 is the second character that makes up the word 倒霉 dao mei or 'unfortunate'. This will make more sense when Zhou Fei and Xie Yun meet again, but I can't say much for now. Also, mei mei sounds girly/feminine, especially since it is homographs with 妹妹 mei mei or 'little sister'.

[7] 想得开居士 xiang de kai ju shi: 想得开 is open-minded; 居士 is an official who has retired from public life. Open-minded is a pretty close translation, but to go into more detail, Xie Yun is able to be carefree and open-minded no matter the circumstance. For example, this current situation when he could be killed by Li Jinrong since 1. he's an outsider and 2. not only is he an outsider, he's carrying a letter from (and could be considered as having ties with) THE Liang Shao. Since the 48 Strongholds has such a bad history with the governments, that's all the more reason for Xie Yun to be worried as he's in deep trouble. However, he's still very carefree and isn't really worried.

If you're unfamiliar with the naming system of ancient China, then I'll explain it here:

姓 xing: last name, 名 ming: birth name/given name, 字 zi: courtesy name, 号 hao: titular name/title/art name

名 ming is the name you're given at 3 months old. This varies as different periods had different customs, but from what I know, traditionally people were born without a name. I think in other periods people were also given 名 at birth, but it varies a lot. This is the name that people on a higher status level use to address you, although it can also be used by people on the same status level if they are super close. Traditionally, if you're of the same status and address each other by your birth names, it's done in private. It's considered extremely rude to call others by their birth name if you are of the same status or of lower status.

字 zi is the name given to you at a certain age, whichever age is considered adulthood in a period. This is the name used by people on the same status level as you and by people on a lower status level.

号 hao is a name that you or others can give you, though usually it's given by others. It's a formal name/title, hence titular name.

Some novels follow the historical rules more strictly (such as 魔道祖师 Mo Dao Zu Shi/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation—side note: one of my all time favorite novels), but I think You Fei follows it more loosely. The importance of 字 zi isn't as emphasized and that's just a stylistic choice. After all, this is a fantasy world in ancient China.

Lastly, in modern times, 字 zi is no longer used by most people. Now, you have a 姓 xing last name and a 名 ming first name and that's that.