Liuxing Hudie Jian - Meteor, Butterfly, Sword.

THE GREAT CONSPIRACY - 1993

Liuxing Hudie Jian - Meteor, Butterfly, Sword (流星‧蝴蝶‧劍)

Novel by. Gu Long.

Xiong Yaohua (7 June 1938 – 21 September 1985), better known by his pen name Gu Long, was a Chinese novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director based in Taiwan. A graduate of Cheng Kung Senior High School and Tamkang University, Xiong is best known for writing wuxia novels and serials, He was named along with Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng as the "Three Legs of the Tripod of Wuxia".

In contrast with Xiong, other writers such as Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng took an alternative route in writing wuxia fiction by incorporating Chinese history, culture and philosophical ideas in their works. Xiong initially intended to follow them but changed his decision after exposure to works such as the James Bond series and The Godfather novels. The influence of these works, which relied on the idiosyncrasies of human life, razor-sharp wit, poetic philosophies, mysterious plots and spine-tingling thrills to achieve success, enabled Xiong to come up with a unique way of writing.

"A shooting star burns but briefly, but while it burns what other star in the heavens is as bright, as brilliant.? When a shooting star appears, not even the stars in the enduring constellations can match its light. The life of a butterfly is delicate, even more fragile than flowers, but alas it lives only in the spring. It is beauty, it is freedom, it is flight. Although its life is short it is fragrant. Only swords, in comparison, are eternal. A swordsman holds his light, his brilliance and light in his hands, but should the sword feel emotion will its brilliance be as short as that of a meteor?" The novel touches on the themes of life, love and ambition and what is endured, betrayed and sacrificed to achieve each.

Reviewed by: PJ October 27, 2007 SPCNET . Rating: three-point-five . The Great Conspiracy 莲花争霸 - 1993. AKA Lian Hua Zheng Ba 25 episodes.

Release Date: 1993

Language: Mandarin

Country of Origin: Singapore

Filming Locations: Chinese Garden, Jurong East, Jurong, Singapore.

A wuxia show that was fairly successful during its air-time, the Great Conspiracy is all but unheard of today. The Chinese title translates into "Lotus Flower Strives for Hegemony." While it isn't a pure novel adaptation, that doesn't mean it is a breath of fresh air. The Great Conspiracy is a show that takes bits from previous popular movies -- more on that after the brief synopsis. Whilst this isn't encouraging news, this is a decent show with some impressive elements, and rest assured there is not one, but two, great conspiracies.

The plot centers around the rivalry between the Nangong family and the Eagle Clan. Master Nangong Jun puts his trust in his adopted son Bai Yu Chuan, while King Eagle counts on Golden Eagle as his biggest killing machine. Nangong Jun affords Bai Yu Chuan the gorgeous Tang Xiou, but Bai Yu Chuan desires Nangong Jun's daughter Butterfly, and to his dismay, she wants no more than a brother-sister relationship. Similarly, Nangong Jian and Yang Tang both relentlessly pursue the same woman, but her mind is set on only one person. Meanwhile, as the two rival clans continue to duke it out for status of the number one group, a spy rests within the Nangong family. Qiu Xiang Tian, Tang Xiou, and Ren Hai Long are all suspects, but the inhumane spy continues his savage plot to rule the martial world...

The Comet Clan consists of three assassins -- Shen Chong, Gao Xiang, and Ye Qun -- and one boss, Sister Qiu Ruo Lan. The irony is that Gao and Ye both like their sister, but she only fancies Shen Chong, who has other romantic interests. Qiu and Gao finally move on beyond their impossible fantasies, but much has changed by then, and their lives will never be the same... Deeds done, spy gone; soon a son, but not for long. Painful times are hard to pass for Nangong Jun, who has become the target of a full-scale conspiracy. Extended victims are innocent devotees set up to look guilty, while the schemer earns everyone's trust. Soon a princess from Dali stumbles onto the Mainland looking for military assistance; can Nangong or Eagle resist her seduction? Jianghu (the pugilistic world) is dangerous, but the mind is more dangerous. Conspiracies are inevitable; money and power make the world go around. Watch out for the change of heart.

It's safe to say that this series was made to lack originality. The nicest way to put it would be as a 'remake' of "Comet, Butterfly, Sword" (by Gu Long) with a different name. Same plot, same characters -- only with different names and a few more ripped-off ideas from other sources. Experienced HK moviegoers will easily identify the music, as well as many scenes, ripped off from classics such as the Swordsman Trilogy (which a lot of TV serials steal from) and Dragon Inn. Example rip-offs include the human meat serving restaurant from "Dragon Inn", the expense of practising the Sacred Volumes from "Swordsman 2", and group singing of the theme song from "East is Red" (it even features the same song here). This is not to say that these movies are completely original; who knows where they might have taken the ideas from. Then again, it doesn't matter because it's always a bad thing to replicate from past media. Somehow, Chinese TV producers are really into being unoriginal, and they turn out overdone replicas that are no match for the original. I say if they want to copy, at least make it into a better copy, so as to be acceptable. The show can be divided into two parts: before and after Bai Yu Chuan's "transformation." The first part is longer, and I personally prefer it to the second part. As soon as you lay eyes on Bai Yu Chuan, you will notice he is played by a female actress and voice-dubbed by a male. This leads you to wonder his identity and future--is he female, impersonating a male, or is he male, but will become a female? One thing is for sure: for now he is male, but will turn into female at some point, as the opening video reveals. ^-^ Without a doubt, I prefer his male presentation, because the acting, costume, and character are much cooler and more enjoyable than the female side. The actress is a natural "girl in a guy's costume" person. Because of this, in my opinion, the latter part of the show suffers from the change. Also, part 2 is mainly about the conspiracies, which are rather difficult to digest.

The theme of the wrongfully accused is found in almost every wuxia series, and I always found these scenes both upsetting and painful to watch. I would have preferred to see more hurt and regret from the people who committed sins due to the conspiracy. They can't be blamed a lot, but they should suffer the consequences. The show comes in a 25-disc set, and each disc contains the opening video as well as preview from the next episode with music. While the opening song stays the same, the ending song alternates between the opening song and two other songs, which are all very good, especially the ones by Roman Tam.

The fight scenes are awesome in this show, for the most part, although they should have integrated more levitation in the fights, which would have pleased me. As of now, this show has the best fight scenes I can remember from any TV series. Unfortunately, during the episodes of the conspiracy, I was so angry at the people falling into the conspiracy that I didn't care about the great fights, but they're still there. Another great aspect is the distinct, though not diverse, filming locations. This show is set mainly in the desert, with beautiful landscape all around. Having seen virtually all TVB wuxia series filmed in the same locations, this is a welcoming change. The story is generally nice, and the good acting helps. Unfortunately, the story is not particularly engaging and doesn't do well to involve the viewer. A lot of times, we won't care about what's going on. However, most of the story is exciting, with some interesting characters. Of course, it helps the excitement if you aren't familiar with "Comet, Butterfly, Sword." If you are the kind of viewer who wants to know all about the story before watching it, knowing "Comet" helps. The cast is primarily made up of unknown actors, and they are not bad. My opinion on Li Nanxing, who plays Shen Chong, is that he was given the worst hairdo of a swordsman since decades ago. He also wears cheap clothes throughout, but that can be forgiven given the status of the character. Just to let you know, Episode 10, filled with unexpected events and great fights, is my favorite. One thing I enjoyed is that the story never concentrates too much on one character. Most characters stay onscreen for a few minutes, and the focus switches. This was good news to me, because I tend to get tired of watching one person's business for too long. I would have preferred less violence in some scenes, which sometimes gets very extreme. Slicing body parts, splitting people, acid-burned skin, you name it.

Yuck! Now that you have learned about the content, I bet it would help to know how the ending was. Fortunately, it's not too cheesy. Of the three wuxia shows I watched lately, this one easily has the best ending. It actually makes sense and allows enough time to be spent on the most important portion of the show. Just don't expect anything that you haven't seen before. I'll touch on the characters briefly. First, why doesn't Butterfly like Bai Yu Chuan? By all means, he was a heroic and likable guy (on the outside), but she just won't accept him. I have no idea why. Instead she likes Gao Xiang, whom -- I think we would all have to agree -- is nowhere near as charismatic as Bai Yu Chuan. Ultimately that's the cause of the whole conspiracy. Don't get me wrong; I favor the unique romance between Butterfly and Gao Xiang, but I can't figure out why she would pick him over Bai Yu Chuan. At the same time, I have to say that Bai Yu Chuan didn't do anything to help Butterfly's feelings. He could have redeemed himself by stepping away (for a while) after she expressed herself, but he continued to pursue her, which is unwise; I mean the guy can see that Butterfly is trying to avoid him as much as humanly possible, and I think she wouldn't have bothered so much if he gave her some space.

Moving on, when we first see Yang Tang, he is naive and outgoing, but the outcome of his lover (which is unrealistic) completely changes his personality. I still don't know if Tang Xiou is a spy; she doesn't seem harmful. As for the Nangong family, I first thought they are probably evil, but they turned out to be nice people (if easily deceived). Nangong Jian is not a likable character. I watched him on the screen and in some scenes, I just felt like chopping him up. On the other hand, he was just another victim of the great conspiracy. I also hate how people try to turn loyal followers like Ren Hai Long into a savage. And the people from the Eagles Clan? Since only 2 Eagles are really talked about, the rest of the Eagles are portrayed as having no skill whatsoever, and anybody can defeat them. Poor King Eagle, he chose to practise the Lotus Manuscript at the wrong time. Lastly, I don't believe for a second that people who have been around Bai Yu Chuan for years would not recognize him as a woman, especially with the same the actress and the same look. If they wanted us to believe it, they should have gave the female a more differentiating presentation. For those who have seen the show, allow me to share my opinions on the characters. Spoilers are present, so skip if you don't want to read spoilers.

* Shen Chong - He is the main character. I think he's all right. In the beginning he didn't have any major problems, but by the end he was a victim of a major trap. The producers probably thought he wouldn't be a good character without some tragedy, although I wouldn't have noticed.

* Bai Yu Chuan - He was the coolest character before the first conspiracy. At the start, he was a calm gentleman, but of course he revealed his vicious side soon. It didn't hurt that his drinking buddy tried to turn him into a woman, because he would eventually become one anyway. He is also the most evil by a long shot; no one else comes close to his merciless mind. His plan really turned innocent people against innocent people and made everyone look like a fool.

* Nangong Jun - Overall he is a righteous leader. He has some extremely loyal followers who will die for him. There's no harmful secret/conspiracy behind his back.

* Nangong Die/Butterfly - What can I say, another typical weepy, vulnerable girl.

* Nangong Jian - A brainless drunk who does some really stupid things. If I were Shen Chong, I probably would have killed him for his lack of understanding.

* Qiu Ruo Lan - I don't like her too much. She will do anything for money, and she doesn't care about Gao Xiang at all. The biggest mistake she made was to help Bai Yu Chuan.

* Ren Hai Long - It took me a while to care about him, but he's a really righteous man in general. His ending was rather cheesy though.

* Lan Lan - I would have to say she shouldn't have married a man that she didn't like at all. We aren't told if she ever really liked him, but then if she didn't, why did she marry him? We do know that she immediately regretted the marriage.

* Ye Qun - A cool assassin who cares about friendship. I really wish he didn't die so disturbingly.

* Gao Xiang - Another assassin who will do some stupid things for money.

* Yang Tang - He was blindly in love and was devastated by his lover's change, even though he didn't show on the outside. He was a hero. Too bad not enough time was spent on him.

* Feng Er Niang - Did she really love Nangong Jian? Probably not, though he would have wasted his life thinking about her if not for Duan Su Su's conspiracy.

* Golden Eagle - his death is unconvincing. I would have preferred the writers extending his on-screen time. -

Most powerful fighters-

1. Duan Su Su

2. King Eagle (after achieving 8th level of Lotus Volumes)

3. Nangong Jun

4. Black Eagle (from 1st episode)

5. Shen Chong

6. Bai Yu Chuan

7. Ren Hai Long

8. Golden Eagle

9. Yang Tang

10. Gao Xiang

(End of Spoilers) . So when does the "lotus" part of the title come in? Keep watching to find out. Sadly, "Lotus Flower" has been forgotten, overshadowed by countless better-known period/ancient dramas of the 80s-90s. In a nutshell, the Great Conspiracy is a familiar wuxia story in which originality is absent, but quality fight choreography and filming locations make it worth a watch. For a brief summary of each episode in Chinese, go to http://star.sina.com.cn/fc/lnanxing/news/news84836-2001-8-11.shtml

Scores:

Originality - 1.0

Action - 4.5

Story - 3.5

Music - 4.0

Acting - 4.0

Ending - 4.0

Production Values - 3.5

xJadedx said: 06-18-04 04:54 PM SPCNET

Translation of Meteor, Butterfly, Sword Liu Xing Hu Die Jian (Meteor, Butterfly, Sword) by Gu Long.

I'm gonna try to translate this book, by Gu Long, this summer. This is my first translation ever, so all the experts out there, please help and comment. I'll post the first chapter up soon. ~ Because I'm somewhere in between, My love and my agony.

xJadedx said: 06-19-04 04:56 PM SPCNET

Yeah, I'm gonna try my best, haha. So if anyone want to comment, feel free to do so. I'm starting the first capter now. It should be up by the end of next week at the latest, but it has like 68 pages, lol.

xJadedx said: 06-20-04 03:18 AM SPCNET

Liuxing Hudie Jian - Meteor, Butterfly, Sword (流星‧蝴蝶‧劍)

Chapter One - The Assassin's Operations

Although the light of the meteor is short-lived, yet what else in the sky can exceed its brightness, its magnificence! Whenever the meteor appears, even the eternal stars cannot deprive it of its radiance. The life of the butterfly is fragile, even more fragile than that of a delicate flower. But it only lives in the spring. It is beautiful, it is free, it flies. Its life is short yet fragrant. Only the sword comes close to eternity. A swordsman’s radiance and life, often depends on the sword he held in his hand. If the sword had emotions, then maybe its vivacity would be as short as the meteor.

As the meteor drew across the night sky, he was lying on this grey rock. He gambled, he drank. He patronized brothels. In his life, he had many different women. He even killed! Yet whenever there was a meteor, he rarely missed it. Because he often lied here, waiting. As long as he could feel that sight-taking brightness, that luminescent excitement, then that was the greatest happiness in his life. He did not want to miss this chance for anything, because his life contained little happiness. He used to want to catch a meteor. Of course, this was a long time ago. Now, he did not have many dreams left, and barely any memories. For a person like him, dreams were not only ridiculous. They were even shameful.

* * *

This was the one place in the world closest to meteors. At the bottom of the hill, the lights were still on in the little cottage. When the wind blew, it sometimes brought sounds of laughter and toasting up the hill from the little cottage. That was his little cottage, his wine, and his women! But he would rather lie here, would rather be alone. The light of the meteor already disappeared from the sky, the water running next to the grey rock was weeping, the time for partying had already passed. Now he must be calm, extremely calm. Because one must be calm before killing. Now he must kill!

* * *

He did not like to kill. Every time when his sword tip stabbed into someone’s heart, as the blood ran down the shaft of his sword, he could not enjoy the excitement that inflates ones blood vessels. He only felt pain. Yet no matter how deep, how strong the pain, he had to endure it. He had to kill. If he did not kill, then he must die! Sometimes, a person lived not to enjoy happiness, but to endure pain; because living was also a responsibility, no one could escape it. He started to remember the first time he killed.

* * *

Luo Yiang was a large city.

Different types of people resided in the city of Luo Yiang – heroes and celebrities, poets and painters. Some were rich and some are poor. Also, the leaders of two major sects, and the chiefs of three major groups resided in this city as well. But no one’s fame was as glorious as Gold Spear Li. No one’s wealth and properties exceeded half of that of Gold Spear Li, and no one could withstand Gold Spear Li’s 49 stances of “Rushed Storm Sudden Rain.” The first person he killed was Gold Spear Li.

Gold Spear Li’s wealth and fame did not fall from the sky; hence, he had many enemies: so many that he did not even remember them all. However, no one ever dreamed of killing him. No one dared. Gold Spear Li had four huge guardians and thirteen bodyguards. Each one of their martial arts could be considered the top in Jiang Hu. And two 2-meter tall giants carried his spear for him. These people never left his side for a minute. He himself wore a weapon-proof gold thread vest. Others not only could not kill him, they could not even come near him. Even if there was someone with better martial arts than Gold Spear Li, to be able to kill him, that person must first overcome seven levels of hidden weapons just to enter the Gold Spear Fortress. Then that person must beat down the two giants, four guardians, and thirteen bodyguards around Gold Spear Li. Finally that person had to pierce through Gold Spear Li’s throat with his sword, and no other part of his body. This stance must make absolutely no mistakes, and could not be slow in any way – because he would not have a second chance. {NOTE: The killing part, I changed a lot of the “he” used in the original text to “Gold Spear Li” to avoid confusions.}

Nobody wanted to do this, nobody was able to do this. Only one person was able to do this, and that was him – Meng XingHun.

* * *

First, he spent half a month and traced the behaviours, activities, and even every movement of Gold Spear Li inside out. Afterwards, he spent another month to get inside of the Gold Spear Fortress, working in the kitchens as a water boy. Then, he spent another month and a half waiting. Everything was easy, but waiting was not. Gold Spear Li was like a cold yet innocent virgin, never giving anyone a chance for assault. Even when he bathed or used the washroom, there was someone guarding him. But, as long as one waited, the chance will come – virgins eventually become mothers. One day it was very windy. A gale blew away Gold Spear Li’s crown. Those closely surrounding him all went to chase after it. Gold Spear Li’s eyes also followed the blown away crown. In this moment, no one looked after anything else. Because that moment was so short, no one had the confidence to seize it. Hence, they were careless. They did not think that there was anything worth being worried about. In this moment, Meng XingHun came, and used one sword stance. Only one stance!

The sword entered the blood vessel from behind the left side of Gold Spear Li’s neck, and exited from the front of the right side of his neck. The sword was pulled out immediately. Blood sprayed, blood droplets sprayed around like a mist. The mist of blood covered everyone’s eyes, the sword flash scared away everyone’s souls! When the mist of blood cleared, Meng XingHun was miles away. No one could describe his speed, and no one could describe the speed of this sword stance. Apparently, when they performed a check for Gold Spear Li, his eyes were wide open, filled with looks of doubt and disbelief. He did not believe that he could die! He could never believe that someone could kill him.

* * *

The news of Gold Spear Li’s death reached everyone under the sky, yet the name of Meng XingHun was still unknown to anyone. Because no one knew who the killer was. Some swore that they would find this “assassin,” to avenge the death of Gold Spear Li. Some swore that they would find this “saviour,” and kiss his feet for ridding Jiang Hu of a plague. Some younger swordsman looking for fame, were also looking for him. But they only wanted to duel with him, to see whose sword was faster. But he did not care for any of these.

After he killed, he just ran to his little cottage alone, hiding in a corner crying, vomiting. Now, he stopped crying, there were no more tears to cry. Nevertheless, every time he saw the blood stains on his sword tip, he still could not help but hide and vomit. Before killing, he was completely calm, absolutely calm, extremely calm. But after killing, he could not control himself anymore. He must gamble, drink, and then find the easiest, most beautiful women to help him forget about killing. He had difficulty forgetting, he could never forget. Thus, he had to continuously gamble, drink, continuously looked for women. Until the next time he killed. Then he would go up the hill alone, and lie on the grey rock beside the running water doing nothing, thinking about nothing. He could not think, and was afraid to think. He was just forcing himself to calm down, so he could go kill another person. He did not know this person, had no grudges against him, he had never even met him before. The life and death of this person had nothing to do with him. But now, he must go kill this person. He killed only because Gao LaoDa told him to do so.

* * *

When he first met Gao LaoDa, he was only six. Then, he had already starved for three days. Starvation for a six-year-old child was even more terrifying than death, even more unbearable than waiting for death. He lied hungrily on the road, seeing nothing. For a six-year-old child to feel death is something unbelievable. Back then, he really could feel death … perhaps things would have been better if he died then. The reason he did not die was because someone’s hand reached out to him, gave him a large loaf of bread. Gao LaoDa’s hand.

Cold, hard bread. As he took this loaf of bread, tears streamed down his face like the stream in the spring. The tears wet the bread. He could never forget the taste of the bread in his throat, mixed with bitter, salty tears. He could also never forget Gao LaoDa’s hand. Now, this hand no longer gave him cold bread, but silver and gold, as much as he wanted. Sometimes, this hand would also pass him a little piece of paper. The paper only carried a name, a location, and a deadline. This piece of paper was that person’s death card!

* * *

“Su Zhou, Sun YuBo, Four Months.” Four months, this deadline meant that Sun YuBo had to die within four months. Ever since he killed Gold Spear Li, he never needed more than three months time to kill someone. Even when he assassinated the seventh sect leader Swordsman NangGong of the Dian Cang Sect, it took only forty-one days. This was not because his sword is faster, but because his heart was colder, his hands were also colder. He knew that he never needed to spend more than three months to kill a person. Gao LaoDa knew this, too. Yet now, the deadline was four months. This already indicated what type of person Sun YuBo was, how difficult and hard it would be to kill him.

The name Sun YuBo was not unfamiliar to Meng XingHun. In fact, the number of people in Jiang Hu who did not know Sun YuBo was even less than the number of Buddhists who did not know the Buddha. In the minds of Jiang Hu people, Sun YuBo was not only the Buddha, but also the Devil. When he was kind, he would sit next to the bed of a strange, sick child and tell him stories for three days and three nights. But when he was mad, he could also turn the eight villages of the QiLian Mountains into flatlands in three days! This famous name now was suddenly meaningless to Meng XingHun, just like a dead man’s name. He could even imagine his sword tip piercing into Sun Yu Bo’s heart. He could also imagine Sun YuBo’s sword tip piercing into his own heart. Either Sun YuBo dies, or he dies. There was no other choice. Yet no matter who died, he did not care.

* * *

In the east the dawn was breaking. It was day. White morning mist gradually rose from the stream, from between the mountains and forests. Then they were slowly blown apart by the wind, thread by thread, and floated far away. No one knew where they floated to, they floated until they disappeared. Life, sometimes, was like the morning mist!

Meng XingHun slowly stood up, slowly walked down the hill. The little cottage was next to the maple trees at the bottom of the hill. The yellow light from the lantern shined on the pale window paper. Occasionally, bits of laughter emerged from the inside. The people in the cottage obviously did not know that the pleasures left with the night. Real pain arrived with the dawn, still enjoying itself in its drunken dreams. Meng XingHun pushed the door open, stood, watched. There were only four or five people left in the little cottage, four or five almost completely naked people. Some were drunk, some were sleeping. Some were just in a daze, staring at the lantern next to the wine cup. When they saw Meng XingHun, the drunk became sober, the sleeping woke up, half-naked girls ran to him giggling. Their pale arms wrapped around his neck like snakes, their soft chests pressed onto his. They were all very pretty, and also very young; that was why they still have not realized how horrible it was to sell out their youths. They could still smile so sweetly, so happily!

"Where did you run off to? We were so sad we couldn’t even drink.”

Meng XingHun looked at them coldly. He was the one who sought these girls. Because of them, the silver in his pockets flowed out like water. Half a day ago, he was still lying among them, muttering sweet nonsense that he did not even believe in himself. Now he only wanted to say one thing. “Get out!”

“You want them to get out?” A man was lying on the soft bed, his bare chest like copper, he had no idea where his clothes went, but next to him he kept a sabre. A copper sabre, the sabre gleamed like fish scales. It does not matter whether he wore clothes or not; but when this sabre was not next to him, then he would feel as if he really was naked.

Meng XingHun gave him a light look and said, “Who are you?”

This man laughed and said, “You’re drunk, you don’t even remember me. I’m your guest from the Three Flower Inn. We both met there drinking, and you insisted that I come.” His face fell, “I came, because you have women here. How can you tell them to get out?”

Meng XingHun said, “You get out too!”

This man’s expressions changed, his huge, rough hand closed on the sabre, he angrily shouted, “What did you say?”

Meng XingHun replied, “Get out!”

A flash of the sabre, the man jumped up and yelled, “Even if you are drunk, even if you forgot who I am, you shouldn’t forget this Violet Fish Scale sabre!”

The Violet Fish Scale sabre was not an ordinary sabre, it was not only very precious, but also very heavy. Someone of lower status could not afford to use such sabre, someone who did not like publicity would not use such sabre, someone with mediocre martial arts would not be able to use such sabre. There were only three people in Jiang Hu who used such sabre.

Meng XingHun did not want to know who he was, only asked, “You use this sabre to kill?”

This man replied, “Of course!”

Meng XingHun asked, “How many did you kill?”

This man’s eyes showed signs of pride, and said, “Twenty. Maybe even more. Who remembers stuff like this.”

Meng XingHun stared at him, a fire of anger was rising from his body to his head. He always thought of killing as a very painful thing. He could not understand why there were some people in the world who took great pride in killing. He hated this type of people, just like he hated venomous snakes.

The Violet Fish Scale sabre was slowly put down, the copper-like face was filled with cold smile, “Today I do not want to kill. Besides, I drank your wine and used your women …”

He suddenly realized that Meng XingHun was coming at him. When he realized this, a cold, hard fist already reached his face. He only felt a hit like an earthquake. He did not even feel the second hit. He did not even feel pain or fear. Long, long after, he felt the cold wind blowing against his face, just like needles, stabbing inside his bones, his brain. He could not help but to touch his mouth with his hand – it turned into soft flesh, with no lips, no teeth. Above that was no nose, his nose disappeared completely. Now he began to feel fear. A kind of maddening fear burst from the bottom of his heart, he screamed. Others from afar heard his scream thought of: a beast with its throat cut off by the hunter.

There was no one else in the cottage, but the cup still had wine in it. Meng XingHun slowly lied down, and put the wine cup flat on his chest. Wine slowly poured out of the cup, one half spilled on his chest, the other half flowed into his mouth. The hot, bitter wine passed by his tongue, down his throat, into his chest, as if it melted together with the wine on his chest, and surrounded his entire body. He suddenly had a dizzy feeling. Normally, before killing, he always thought of maintaining his calmness, and never touched wine. However, this time was different. He suddenly felt that he should not go kill that person, he did not want to go. Around that person was a kind of unlucky shadow, waiting for him. Waiting to devour him!

* * *

xJadedx said: 06-22-04 12:52 AM

Chapter One Continued ...

As she finished her seventh cup of wine, her eyes became bright. The ones who drink can be separated into two groups – in one group, after a person drinks wine, his eyes will become blurry, filled with blood-shots. Most people belong in this group. She belongs in the other group. When she finished her ninth cup of wine, her eyes were bright like stars.

There were six or seven people throwing dice in the room. The clashing of the dice sounded like silver bells. The lantern hanging on the wall was also made of silver, casting a soft ray onto the fine porcelain sitting on the table, onto the great marble table sitting on fine sandalwood, onto those six or seven sweat-dripping faces.

She felt very satisfied. This is her room; everything in this room belongs to her. Nevertheless, this room is just a tiny, tiny portion of her properties. These people were either wealthy merchants and dealers, or famous heroes and celebrities. In the past, they would not even look at her, but now they were all her friends. She knows that all she needed was to open her mouth, and they would go do anything for her; because they, too, needed her help. She would, too, fulfill any of their strange wishes anytime.

Near the door sat a bearded, middle-aged man wearing a brocade robe: this was the sixth master of the number one wealthy family ZuTai from Lu Nan. One day, when he was drunk, he said that he had tasted everything except for a baked camel. The next day, when he opened his eyes, he saw four men carrying his breakfast. His breakfast was a baked camel. Here at her place, you can demand for something even more absurd. At her place, no matter what you wanted, you would not be disappointed. Yet ten years ago, she had nothing; not even a complete set of clothing. She could only let some greedy, perverted eyes search through the naked parts of her body. Back then, no matter who gave her a set of clothing, then that person could receive everything from her body.

* * *

Now she owned almost everything! The brighter her eyes, the more drunk she was. The clashing of dice was non-stop, the wagers getting bigger, the sweating getting more. Looking at their face, she suddenly felt ridiculous. These normally handsome gentlemen, when they see gambling and women, became a bunch of dogs, a bunch of pigs, a hybrid of pigs and dogs. She wanted to vomit.

Someone from across the room yelled, “This time I’ll be the banker. Landlady, you wanna give it a try?”

She walked over there, carelessly put down a bank note. The banker was the head of a team of armed escorts. He also owned a few restaurants. He always liked to show of his rough, strong muscles and that jade ring on his finger to her – this means that he not only has money, but also masculinity. She knew that he was hitting on her. The banker threw an “Eleven.” He laughed, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth like a hungry dog. She carelessly picked up the dice, and threw a “Four Reds.” The banker’s laugh was already a bit uneasy, but he was still laughing. But when he saw the “50 000 Taels” on her bank note, his face became more black and more yellow than his teeth. She smiled and said, “This is just a game, no need to take it seriously. If Third Master Song did not bring enough money, then just bark twice. It’ll cheer everyone up. This bet is about barking.”

For 50 000 taels, many people will bark like a dog. But she had already quietly pushed the door open, and slipped out silently. She was afraid that she would have vomited right there on the spot. She walked along the path, walked out of these beautiful woods, and arrived at the little cottage at the bottom of the hill. She saw a half-drunk Meng XingHun the second she pushed the door open. She silently walked to him, reached out her hand to him …

* * *

Meng XingHun was neither sleeping, nor drunk. He just did not want to understand. When he heard the footsteps, he opened his eyes and saw her hand. No one can deny that this is not an extremely beautiful hand. It was just a bit too big, but this only showed the strong, unyielding characteristics of the hand’s owner. People who saw these hands would never believe that these hands once dug for yams buried under cold ice, that these hands once dug for coal under a two metre ruins.

She stared at him, gently took the wine cup off his chest and said, “You should not be drinking.”

Her voice was soft, yet commanding. She really could command him. “Gao LaoDa” was not a big brother, but a big sister. It was her hands that gave him his life. Back then, that cold, hard piece of bread really was more precious than all the gold in the world. {NOTE: In Chinese, “LaoDa” usually refers to a male.}

Back then was the most difficult times during the war and starvation. You could aways see people who died of starvation lying on the road. Dead people were nothing unusual, if you survived, then that was unusual. Without a home, without his parents, without anything – a six-year-old child actually managed to survive. This was not only unusual, it was a wonder. Gao LaoDa created this wonder.

She created four wonders – four children followed her. The youngest was only five; even herself was only a thirteen-year-old child. In order to raise these four children, in order to survive herself, she did almost anything. She stole, she robbed, she lied, she even betrayed herself. When she was only fourteen years old, she sold her virginity to a butcher for one kilogram of meat. She could never forget that drooling face on top of hers. Fifteen years later, she found that butcher and shoved a one metre long sabre down his mouth.

The light of the sun gently spread over the window paper. She walked over and pulled down the curtains. She did not like the sunlight, because under the sun, you could see the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.

Meng XingHun suddenly asked, “Are you here to rush me?”

Big Sister Gao smiled, and replied, “You don’t need me to rush you, and you’ve never disappointed me.”

Meng XingHun said, “But this time …”

Big Sister Gao asked, “What about this time?”

Meng XingHun said, “Can I not go this time?”

Big Sister Gao turned around sharply, stared at him and said, “Why? You’re afraid of Sun YuBo?”

Meng XingHun did not reply, because he did not know what to say. He had to ask himself first, “Am I afraid?”

No. If a person was not afraid of death, then what else is there to fear? It was just tiredness. A kind of tiredness that bored into the bones, that seeped into the blood. Tired of killing, tired of bloodshed, tired of this way of life that never sees the sun. Was this life not like that of a prostitute?

There was only one road in front of him, yet behind him was a whip. He replied after a long time, “I just don’t want to go.”

Big Sister Gao’s beautiful smile suddenly froze, and she said, “No. You have to go.” She came closer and said, “You know that Shi Qun is in XiBei, and Xiao He went to JingCheng. Neither of them will be back in a short time. Besides, only you can do this, only you can deal with Sun YuBo.”

Meng XingHun asked, “What about Ye Xiang?”

Big Sister Gao laughed coldly, “Ye Xiang! Now he can only hold a baby.”

Meng XingHun said, “He did it before.”

Big Sister Gao said, “Before is before.” Her expressions gradually softened, she gently said, “I already gave him three chances, I can’t let him disappoint me once more.”

Meng XingHun’s face had no expressions, none at all; yet the corner of his right eye was twitching non-stop. This happens every time he felt sad and angry. Him, Shi Qun, Xiao He, and Ye Xiang were all children raised by Big Sister Gao. Ye Xiang used to be their leader – he was not only the oldest, but also the smartest, the strongest! But now …

Big Sister Gao sighed and all of a sudden, she sat down next to him, lied down, and said, “Stop arguing with me, I’m already really tired …” Her hand slowly reached out and grasped his hand, she said slowly, “I know you’re really tired, too. But this is life, if we want to survive, then we can’t stop.” Survive? Who cares about surviving! Yet in life, there are always things that you cannot not care about.

Meng XingHun closed his eyes, “If you really want me to go, then I’ll go.”

Big Sister Gao’s hand grasped him harder, “I know that you won’t disappoint me.”

Her hand was soft and warm. Ever since he was six, these hands often held his. She was his friend, his older sister, and also his mother. But now, he suddenly felt that this hand brought him another totally different feeling. He opened his eyes and looked at this hand, his eyes slowly moving upwards away from the hand; finally he saw her face, her eyes. Her eyes were clear and bright, but her face was blurred. The sun was blocked by the curtains. The lantern extinguished, too. All of a sudden, he felt that she was a stranger, a strange yet beautiful woman.

She was looking at him, too. After a long time, she sighed, “You are no longer a child.” He wasn’t; he wasn’t a child anymore ever since he was thirteen. Big Sister Gao said, “I know you had many women before.”

Meng XingHun replied, “Many.”

Big Sister Gao asked, “Did you ever like them?”

Meng XingHun answered, “No.”

Big Sister Gao said, “If you don’t like them, then they can never satisfy you. A person who can never feel satisfied will only fell tired.” She smiled. Her smile was so gentle, so charming, “Maybe you still know nothing about women. You don’t know how much a woman can encourage a man.”

Meng XingHun said nothing, his Adam’s apple was moving up and down. He watched her. She stood up, slowly stood up. Her movements were so elegant and gentle. She placed her hand on he buttons and slowly unbuttoned … Suddenly, she was completely naked – her hips was still slender, her breasts were still firm, her legs were still long and slim, her skin still shined like silk. She definitely did not look like a woman who has lost her youth. Standing in the dim morning light, she still resembled a spring goddess. She looked at him. Suddenly, he felt an indescribable excitement: his throat was filled up. In this moment, he forgot the past, the future, and even the present.

She slowly leaned towards him, her voice calm yet far away, she softly said, “If you understood women, then you will no longer feel tired. I will teach you to understand women …” Her breath was mild like the spring wind, with a sweet scent that was enchanting to the heart. Perhaps she was drunk, but the wine turned into sweetness. Even though she was no longer very young, she was still an irresistible woman.

* * *

Meng XingHun was running fast through the cold, autumn wind like a beast hit by an arrow. As he was running, tears suddenly poured out. He wanted to, he needed to, but he could not accept. No matter how badly he wanted it, he could not accept. The first time he was excited was when he was thirteen.

Back then they were still wandering. One day, they spent the night in someone’s food storage cabin. It was summer, and it was hot and stuffy inside the food storage cabin. He woke up from the heat around midnight, and noticed by chance that she was in a corner washing herself with cold water. The moonlight shined through the little window in the roof of the cabin, and shined onto her naked, gleaming body. Her hand was massaging her chest, a dreamy moan was emerging from her throat. Then her body jerked as if she collapsed. At that instant, he felt as if a fire started burning in his stomach. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Sweat soaked through his clothes.

Ever since then, every time he became excited, he would think of her, of her hand massaging her chest, of her jerking, trembling legs. Afterwards, he would always have a guilty feeling. He tried hard to stop himself from thinking about it. He even secretly carried a needle with him: every time he thought about it, he would stab his legs with that needle. The older he became, the more needle scars he had on his legs. Until he had a real woman. Yet whenever he closed his eyes, he still could not help but to prevent that the other women were her.

He never imagined that one day, he could really have her. He really wanted to, really needed to, yet no matter what, he could not accept. As he ran out of the little cabin, the expression on her face was as if someone had slapped her – slapped her really hard. For a woman, there was no insult greater than this in the world. He knew how she felt inside, nonetheless, he had to reject. She always will be his older sister, his mother, and also his friend. He could not destroy her place held in his heart, because no one could ever take her place.

* * *

The leaves on the trees had begun to fall from the cold. He ran into the forest, stopped, tightly embraced the tree in front of him, and rubbed his face with the rough tree bark. He only knew that his face was wet, but did not know if it was blood or tears?

The sun already rose, the garden around the forest was as beautiful as a painting. Within 1 500 kilometres from here, one could not find a second garden this beautiful, nor a more charming place than here. Different types of people from different places come here, just like flies are attracted to blood on a piece of meat. Even if they spent their last silver tael in this place, they would not regret it. Because this place is the “Pleasure Forest.”

Here, you could not only buy the best wine, the best women, but you could also purchase dreams you thought would never come true. As long as you were generous enough, here, you could even buy another person’s life! Here, there was nothing that money could not buy, and there was that could have for free. If you came here, then you had to be prepared to spend money, Meng XingHun was no exception.

No one was an exception. Because the owner of this place was Gao JiPing a.k.a. Gao LaoDa. Living through almost twenty years of hardships and poor wanderings had taught her one thing: “You own sons are not as good as money.” There was nothing more important than money in this world. Nobody could say that she was wrong, because she learned this through poverty, and this was more painful and more real than cutting yourself with a knife.

A few people came out of the house next to the little bridge. Their arms were around the waists of young girls. They were yawning and discussing their match. An all night long gambling session sometimes was more exciting than a life-or-death battle, and more tiring. Meng XingHun recognized the first person that came out – his surname was Tai and he was the master of the richest family in LuDong, and he was old enough to be the grandfather of the young girl beside him. Still, he maintained his body well, he was still very energetic. Hence, every autumn, he would come and stay here for a while.

Meng XingHun suddenly thought, “There aren’t that many people who want to buy the life of Sun YuBo. Could that person be him?”

The price to purchase someone’s life was, of course, very expensive; and there are not that many people who are qualified to buy Sun YuBo’s life. Before, when Meng XingHun killed, he never wondered about who the buyer was. Yet this time, he suddenly had curiosity. Judging by the loudness of his laughter, Tai obviously was successful last night. Yet suddenly, he stopped laughing, because someone on the bridge walked pass. This person was very tall, very strong. He wore a long, light-green robe, his grey hair was tied into a bun. His hands made a chiming noise, as if he was holding iron balls.

Meng XingHun could not see his face, he only saw Tai HuHua’s. Tai HuHua’s status was very high in the martial arts society, almost at the same level as any of the major sect’s leaders. But when he saw this person, his expressions immediately changed to a very respectful one and he bowed to show curtsy. This person only nodded slightly, carelessly talked a bit, and walked by proudly.

Meng XingHun really wanted to walk over there and see who this person was, but he could not. Here, he was just a ghost who could never see the sunlight – with no forename, no surname. He must not meet others, and others, too, must not recognize him. Because Gao LaoDa believed that the Jiang Hu must never know that a person like him existed. He only lived to kill, and must also die due to killing. If he wanted to live longer, then he definitely must not have emotions, must not have friends, and also must not have a life of his own. His life did not belong to him anyway.

End Of Chapter One.

To be continued...

NEXT ON CHAPTER TWO . Liuxing Hudie Jian - Meteor, Butterfly, Sword (流星‧蝴蝶‧劍)

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