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Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils Chapter 1 – Part 4
Jin Yong | Novel Index | Part 4 of 8

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils Chapter 1 – Part 4

Translation by Jenxi Seow


Duan Yu could not refuse, so he popped a melon seed in his mouth. It tasted bitter with a tinge of spiciness initially, then it left a sweet after-taste similar to white olive. That made him salivate and he started eating one after another. He placed the shells on the beam, while the girl simply spat them out without a care. The shells flew over the heads of the crowd below and many frowned as they dodged.

“If you tell us what you heard on your travels, I… I would be extremely grateful.” His tone and choice of words were very polite for the sake of getting information from the girl. She asked, “I heard members of the Shennong Guild talk about some Wuliang Jade. What’s that?”

Zuo Zimu was startled. “Wuliang Jade? Could it be that there’s some precious jade or jade pendant1 on Wuliang Shan? Haven’t heard of it. Shuangqing shimei, have you heard of it?”

Before Shuangqing could reply, the girl interjected, “Of course she hasn’t. There’s no need for the two of you to put up an act. If you’re unwilling to say, then save it. Hmph! I’m not interested!”

Zuo Zimu appeared embarrassed by the girl’s outburst. “Ah! I remembered. They are probably referring to the smooth rock on the side of the White Dragon Peak of Wuliang Shan. This rock is as flat and smooth as a mirror, and you can actually see the reflection of strands of hair in it. Some say that it’s jade, but it’s actually just a white and shiny rock.”

“You should have said it earlier. Wouldn’t it make things simpler? How did you become enemies with the Shennong Guild? Why do they want to kill everyone from Wuliang Sword School?”

Seeing that the girl had gained the upper hand, Zuo Zimu knew that he would have to answer her first before she would divulge any information. Although the situation was dire, there were many guests present, so he could not drag her down and interrogate her. “Please come down, miss. I will inform you of the full details.”

The girl swung her legs and said, “There’s no need for you to go into the details. Since your words are a mix of truth and lies, I can only believe three to four tenths of what you say. So tell me whatever you want.”

Zuo Zimu’s brows were furrowed and his rage was visible on his face. He restrained himself immediately and continued, “When the Shennong Guild wanted to gather herbs from the back of the mountain last year, I didn’t allow them to. So they sneaked in to do so. My shidi, Rong Ziju, and a few disciples chanced upon them and admonished them. Those members of the Shennong Guild said, ‘This is neither the Jinluan Palace2 nor was it the Yu Floral Garden,3 so why can’t outsiders enter? Did Wuliang Sword School buy Wuliang Shan?’ Both parties had a clash of words and then they started fighting. Rong shidi showed no mercy and killed two of them. And that’s how the feud begun. Both sides fought again some time later on the banks of Lancang River4 and a few more lives were taken.”

The girl nodded, “Oh, that’s how it is. What herbs did they want to gather?”

“That, I’m not too sure,” Zuo Zimu admitted.

The girl said gleefully, “I thought so too. Since you already told me how the feud was started, I’ll tell you two things as well. I was catching snakes in the mountain for my Lighting Marten the other day—”

“Your marten is called the Lightning Marten?” Duan Yu butted in. The girl said, “Yeah. Isn’t it as fast as lightning when it runs?”

“Indeed. Lightning Marten. That’s a very apt name!” Duan Yu approved. Zuo Zimu glared at Duan Yu, angry that the latter interrupted him. However, the girl was getting to the crucial part and if he were to reprimand Duan Yu, the girl might be angered and refuse to divulge any further information. Hence, he remained silent. “Lightning Marten loves to eat poisonous snakes and nothing else. I raised it since it was a baby. It’s four this year. It only listens to me. It doesn’t even obey Father or Mother. When I ask it to frighten others, it frightens. When I ask it to bite, it bites. This marten is really obedient.”

As she said that, she reached into her pouch to pet to marten. Duan Yu said, “Mister Zuo is waiting anxiously. Just tell him what he wants to know.”

The girl laughed and looked down at Zuo Zimu. “When I was looking for snakes in the grass, I heard several persons walking over. One of them said, ‘If we don’t slaughter everyone from Wuliang Sword School this time round and take over Wuliang Shan and Jianhu Palace, the members of the Shennong Guild should just cut our own throats.’ The talk of slaughtering everyone sounded fun, so I squatted there and kept quiet. They continued discussing about being under the order of Lingjiu Palace5 on Piaomiao Peak6 to ascertain the truth behind Wuliang Cliff.”

At that point, Zuo Zimu and Xin Shuangqing glanced at each other. The girl asked, “What’s Lingjiu Palace on Piaomiao Peak? Why does the Shennong Guild need to submit to its command?”

“This is the first time I’ve heard of Lingjiu Palace on Piaomiao Peak. I had no idea that the Shennong Guild were actually under the order of someone else to cause trouble with us.” Zuo Zimu admitted. If the Shennong Guild were forced to act under the command, it meant that whoever it was on Piaomiao Peak would be very powerful. There were countless mountains and peaks in Yunnan, but Zuo Zimu had never heard of one by the name of Piaomiao Peak. That made him more worried and he started frowning unconsciously.

The girl ate two melon seeds before continuing, “Then I heard another person saying, ‘If the waternut herb could cure our guild leader’s illness, we brothers must risk even excruciating deaths to get hold of this herb.’ The other person who spoke earlier sighed and said, ‘Other than the Tianshan Child Granny herself, no one is able to remove the Mark of Life and Death on me. Although the waternut herb has mystical medical properties, it would only slightly reduce the torturous agony when the Mark of Life and Death comes into effect…’ As they spoke, they walked further and further away. So have I said it clear enough?”

Zuo Zimu did not reply. Instead, he lowered his head and remained deep in thought. Xin Shuangqing spoke, “Zuo shixiong, the waternut herb isn’t something extraordinary. If the Shennong Guild’s leader Sikong Xuan7 wants to use it as a cure or analgesic, then give some to him. Wouldn’t that solve the problem?”

“What’s the use of giving him some waternut herb? Didn’t you hear that they have the intention of occupying Jianhu Palace?” Zuo Zimu was furious. Xin Shuangqing snorted and remained silent. The girl placed her right arm under Duan Yu’s armpit and said, “Let’s go down!”

She straightened herself and leap off the beam. Duan Yu cried out in shock but he was already in mid air. The girl landed gently with her right arm still supporting Duan Yu’s left arm. “Let’s take a look outside and see what the Shennong Guild looks like.”

Zuo Zimu stepped forward, “Wait, I have a few more questions. Miss, you mentioned that the old fellow Sikong Xuan has a Mark of Life and Death on him. Once it takes effect, he would be in extreme agony. What is it? Who is the Tianshan Child Granny?”

“Firstly, I don’t know the answer to both of your questions. Secondly, you asked me in such a rude manner, so even if I knew, I’d definitely not tell you,” the girl replied.

Zuo Zimu was very unwilling to make another enemy as Wuliang Sword School was already besieged by a strong enemy. However, the girl’s words contained many important points related to the reputation and survival of Wuliang Sword School. He had to get to the clarify every point. Shifting his body, he blocked the path of Duan Yu and the girl. “Miss, the evil people of the Shennong Guild are out there. If any mishaps were to befall on you out there, Wuliang Sword School would blame ourselves.”

“I’m not a guest you invited. Moreover, you don’t even know my name. If I were to be killed by the Shennong Guild, my parents would definitely not blame you for not protecting me.” As she said that, the girl pulled Duan Yu’s arm and walked towards the exit. Zuo Zimu drew his sword that was sheathed at his waist. “Miss, please stay.”

“You want to fight?” The girl asked. Zuo Zimu assured, “I only want you to repeat what you told me earlier in greater detail.”

The girl shook her head. “If I refuse to say, will you kill me?”

“I can’t think of any other way around this.” He levelled his sword before his chest to block their path. The girl turned to Duan Yu. “This bearded old man wants to kill me. What should we do?”

Waving his folding fan, Duan Yu said, “We will do whatever you say, miss.”

“If he kills me with one strike, what do we do?”

“As the saying goes, share the blessings and face adversity together. Since we shared melon seeds, we will face the blade together.” Duan Yu stated.

“Very well said. You are a friend indeed. It isn’t a waste to be acquainted with you. Let’s go!” She strode towards the exit, ignoring Zuo Zimu’s gleaming black sword. Zuo Zimu shifted his sword to point at the girl’s shoulder. He had no intention of hurting her, but only wanted to stop her from leaving the arena. A middle-aged Wuliang Sword School disciples rushed forward and grabbed the girl’s arms. The girl tapped her pouch and whistled twice. Suddenly, there was a white flash as the Lightning Marten darted out and pounced onto the disciple’s right arm. He fumbled to grab it, but true to its name, the marten was lightning quick. It bit his right wrist before darting back into the pouch. The middle-aged disciple cried out and dropped one knee to the ground.His wrist was swiftly went numb and he cried out, “Poison! Poison! Your… Your damned marten is poisonous!”

He gripped his wrist tightly with his left hand in an attempt to prevent the poison from spreading. All the disciples of the Wuliang Sword School Eastern Sect rushed forth. Two of them propped up their shixiong, while the rest unsheathed their swords and surrounded Duan Yu and the girl. “Hand over the antidote now or we will slaughter this wench.”

The girl smiled. “I don’t have the antidote. You just need to gather some waternut herb and boil it into a bowl of thick soup. Feed it to him and he will be fine. However, he shouldn’t move in the next six hours or the poison will penetrate his heart. That would be terrible. Why are all of you blocking me? You want to be bitten by this marten as well?”

The girl took the marten out of the pouch and held it in her left hand. Pulling Duan Yu with her right hand, she walked towards the exit. Seeing the awkward state that his disciple was in, Zuo Zimu’s disciples knew that with their skills, they would be unable to avoid the lightning quick attack of the marten. They could only watch helplessly as the Duan Yu and the girl left the arena. The guests were dumbstruck by the astounding speed of the Lightning Marten and none of them dared to go forth and stop the duo. Duan Yu and the girl stepped through the doorway shoulder to shoulder. Some disciples of Wuliang Sword School were in the practice arena, while others stood guard outside in anticipation of an attack by the Shennong Guild. However, as the two of them left Jianhu Palace, they did not run into anyone.

“Lightning Marten has eaten thousands of poisonous snake in its lifetime. Its teeth are very poisonous. The fierce man should have cut off his arm immediately after he was bitten. If he delays for a mere few hours, he wouldn’t be able to live past the eighth day,” the girl muttered.

Footnotes

  1. This is a play of words. The original text is 玉壁 (yùbì): yu means jade, bi means cliff, which means a beautiful cliff. The word jade is used as an adjective to express beauty. However, bì is a homonym for pendant. Zuo Zimu is pretending to assume she meant a jade pendant instead of a jade cliff. I translated it as Wuliang Jade to convey how it could be misinterpreted.

  2. 金銮殿 – Jīnluán diàn. The Emperor’s audience hall.

  3. 御花园 – Yù huāyuán. The imperial garden.

  4. 澜沧江 – Láncānɡ jiānɡ. A large river in south-western China that flows from the Danggula Mountains (唐古拉山) in Qinghai (青海), through Tibet, till southern Xishuangbannan (西双版纳), Yun’nan, where it exits China, after which it is known as the Mekong River in South-east Asia.

  5. 灵鹫宫 – Língjiù gōng. See Wuxia Wiki.

  6. 缥缈峰 – Piāomiáo fēng

  7. 司空玄 – Sīkōng Xuán. See Wuxia Wiki.