Chapter 3: 3

Chapter 3

Bright Moon and Gentle Breeze Over Straddling Tiger River

Straddling Tiger River, bright moon shining.

It was the sixteenth or seventeenth of the month,1 the moon especially bright, making Straddling Tiger River look even more lovely.

On the river were a number of boat, on the bank were reeds.

Some of the boats on the river were large, with brilliant colored lanterns, and some were small, exquisite and refined. The largest among them was a pleasure boat moored by Scull Bridge, decorated with colored lanterns and streamers, the sounds of singing and music drifting over the river.

Needless to say, this pleasure boat was an extravagant, luxurious one, elegantly decorated, with a bevy of artistes as ravishing as peach blossoms and able-bodies guards patrolling the perimeter. No one but “Xi Family Village” could afford something like that.

The current head of Xi Family Village, Headman Xi Xiaofeng, was young to be the head of the village, and he was also a lecherous person.

Xi Family Village‘s Panic-Stricken Sabreplay, passed down from generation to generation, was famed throughout the martial world, created 324 years before by Xi Yuchu who was unrivaled in the Guanzhong region. Its movements were nimble and quick, its techniques were a blur. Three generations later, Xi Qitang established the number one hereditary house in the Yellow River area, Xi Family Village comparable to Houses Nangong, Murong, and Fei, Shangguan, Sima, and Tang. Five more generations later, when it was in Great Xia Xi Benlong’s hands, it reached its peak, not only in terms of force of numbers, but also in its good reputation, and Xi Benlong was a master of the sabre, he was also a master sabre sculptor2 and had expended a lot of effort to make the Dream Shattering Sabre.

The method for making the Dream Shattering Sabre was already lost, but it was said that Xi Benlong had miraculously obtained two pieces of a rare iron and smelted them together to form this wondrous sabre. After Xi Benlong made the sabre, eight generations after the founder Si Yuchu, he obtained the title “Number One Master of Guanzhong”.

The martial world in those days had no lack of talented people, the level of martial arts had progressed. Even if the originator of the Panic-Stricken Sabreplay Xi Yuchu were still alive, he wouldn’t necessarily be at the top of the list of masters of the martial world in Guanzhong, but with his Dream Shattering Sabre and Panic-Stricken Sabreplay, Xi Benlong’s skill increased tenfold, and he could easily defeat all formidable foes. Even more curious, everyone who was wounded by his Dream Shattering Sabre in a duel, no matter how slight the wound, would lose his will to fight and would bow his head and submit, and so Xi Benlong obtained the title of Number One Master of Guanzhong. For a time, Xi Family Village’s renown was at the point where no one dared to mess with them.

Unfortunately, Xi Benlong, who had seized the title of Number One Master, whether because he was too excited or too happy, suddenly died. It seemed that it was not good to be either too happy or too sad, and a peerless martial arts master was no exception.

However, it could be said that when Xi Benlong died, at the height of his reputation, resulted in him leaving behind a fame that could never fall, and when later generations spoke of the “Panic-Stricken Sabreplay Dream Shattering Sabre” Xi Benlong, they would all give a thumbs-up and say how good he was.

After Xi Benlong’s death, the ninth generation of Xi Family Village was succeeded by XI Jiujing. Xi Jiujing did not strive for supremacy like his father, he was rather indifferent to fame and wealth and rarely caused trouble in the jianghu. However, Xi Family Village was still exceedingly prestigious. If you needed anything all you had to do was tell them and there would be no more trouble. The Panic-Stricken Sabreplay of Xi Family Village was a skill hard to match, plus the Xi Family Dream Shattering Sabre made the Panic-Stricken Sabreplay ten times more effective, so let me ask you, who would dare make enemies with them?

Xi Jiujing was like his name, he was fond of drink,3 and though Xi Family Village did not grow, its reputation was still eminent. Xi Jiujing lived a peaceful life this way for half a lifetime, till ten days after his 58th birthday when he died suddenly. It was said that it was his excessive drinking that had ruined his body.

The tenth generation headman of Xi Family Village was the young Xi Xiaofeng.

After Xi Jiujing’s sudden death, the martial world’s respect for Xi Family Village was much worse than before. So once Xi Jiujing died, many eyed Xi Family Village’s vast wealth and influence and found excuses to provoke them and get even with them, hoping to overturn Xi Family Village and take over its position.

But these challengers were all beaten down. The two people usually responsible for settling these headaches were: Xi Family Village Manger Xi Liangwu and Steward Xi Yingming.

Most people, needless to say were no match for Xi Family Village headman Xi Xiaofeng, but even Manager Xi Liangwu and Steward Xi Yingming’s sabres were not at all easy to deal with.

In recent years there had also been some masterhands who could directly fight Xi Xiaofeng man to man, mainly because these martial world personages were the head honchos or overlords of some region, a stronghold chief, cavernlords, etc. They were comparatively skilled matched with Xi Xiaofeng, but all were defeated by Head Steward Tang Shijing.

Tang Shijing was the head steward of Xi Family Village. By comparison, ix Liangwu could only be considered the “third steward”, Xi Yingming was the “second steward”, and Tang Shijing was the “head steward”.

Tang Shijing’s status within the martial world was high enough to contend with any head of a clan or sect.

Tang Shijing was a standout masterhand within the martial world. More rare was that his management ability was even better than his martial arts. He was famous by the age of 30, and at 31 he was promoted by Falling Goose Gang chief Shi Shouyan to the position of head hallmaster, and in three short years the Falling Goose Gang became the number one gang in Shandong!

At 35, Tang Shijing changed jobs and went to Guan Family Village of Shaanxi, and in four short years won the support of all higher and lower in the village and became the deputy headman, his prestige rivaling Headman Guan Tianren. But Tang Shijing quietly retired, left Guan Family Village, and a year later he was finally enlisted by Xi Family Village’s late headman Xi Jiujing.

In less than seven years Tang Shijing’s position at Xi Family Village was higher than the other two stewards Xi Liangwu and Xi Yingming. He went out to meet challengers on behalf of the headman, which was perfectly justified, but no one who wanted to challenge Xi Xiaofeng was able to make it past Tang Shijing.

Therefore: the fact that Xi Family Village’s renown did not fall was due in large part to “Nine Lives Head Steward” Tang Shijing.

Xi Xiaofeng was only 35, pale faced and no beard, eyebrows extending back to his temples, a refined, scholarly face, usually mild-mannered. He only liked reading and playing the zither.

On this day, for whatever reason, he had summoned a group of gorgeous artistes from the blue quarters to sing and dance.4 He drained cups of wine large and small while holding a girl in each arm and fooling around with them.

The women Xi Family Village summoned from the blue quarters you could say were the best of the best, naturally beautiful as flowers, and also skilled, some at singing, some at dancing, and others were proficient in stringed instruments or drums, poetry, calligraphy, the zither, and weiqi.

One of them, called Little Pearl, had dark, full eyebrows that rose naughtily back to her billowy temples. Her neck was long and slender, well proportioned like riverbed pebbles, and her her sharp eyes under eyelashes also lightly trembled, as if she were a bit uncomfortable.

She was an artiste who sold her performances not her body. Of the girls she was the most pure, and the youngest.

As far as the girls were concerned, to be summoned to Straddling Tiger River by Xi Family Village headman Xi Xiaofeng was a lucky, exciting honor, but Little Pearl was quite uncertain.

Because she had heard from Xi Qiuya that Xi Xiaofeng and his wife doted on each other, and that he wasn’t a person who indulged in wine and women.

Xi Qiuya was Xi Xiaofeng’s younger brother. Xi Xiaofeng had a younger brother and a younger sister.

And Xi Qiuya had his sights set on Little Pearl. She was in his eyes the most sublime, most lovable woman. Whenever Xi Qiuya defeated an opponent or ran into some unhappy affair in the jianghu, he would always go to Little Pearl, tenderly caress her little hands and tell her all about it.

A companion to comfort him is just what a proud, bold sword-wielding young master needs.

The difference was, Xi Qiuya truly cared about her deeply and truly wanted to take her as his wife.

This was why Little Pearl could still remain pure and unsullied in the midst of the mire: with Second Young master Xi around, who would dare try to win the affection of this pretty girl?

And Little Pearl held tightly to this point: this was her little skiff in the midst of an angry sea. If she lost him, nothing was safe, and she would sink into degradation.

And Little Pearl looked at her sweetheart’s revered big brother: Xi Xiaofeng. With him abandoning all restraint, she couldn’t help but think: In the future, will Xi Qiuya treat me the same way? And if he does, what will I do then?

As she was having these thoughts, Xi Qiuya next to her was feeling uncomfortable.

The reason he felt uncomfortable was that he never imagined his revered brother would act as weird as he had been recently. With him acting that way in front of Little Pearl, what would she think?

—Big Bro has always doted on Sister-in-law, but recently he…”

Xi Qiuya couldn’t think about it any more because Xi Xiaofeng was asking him a question.

“Qiuya.”

“Big Bro, what is it?”

I’m the headman, the headman of Xi Family Village.” Xi Xiaofeng squinted and stared hard at his little brother. “Where do you get off calling me Big Bro?”

“I’m your little brother.” Xi Qiuya didn’t expect his big brother to say that.

“You’re always calling me brother, never willing to call me headman.” Xi Xiaofeng looked at his little brother intensely. “You’re thinking of seizing my position, aren’t you?”

Xi Qiuya’s mouth was agape at that sudden question. He didn’t know how to respond.

Just then, the eldest of artistes, Third Lady Ni, who was a skilled conversationalist, smiled and put her hand with its red garden balsam dyed fingernails seductively on Xi Xiaofeng’s shoulder. “Aiyo, Headman, what’s the matter, what are you brothers squabbling about? Headman, if you’re unhappy, why don’t you let us make you feel better?”

Xi Xiaofeng’s answer made all the singing stop.

He didn’t answer with a single word.

He just slapped Third Lady Ni and knocked three of her front teeth out. Her face swollen, she fell on the deck and all the girls cried out in shock, but no one said another word.

Xi Qiuya couldn’t stand for this and shot to his feet. “Big Bro, you—“

Xi Xiaofeng didn’t even look up. “Just who is the headman of Xi Family Village?”

Xi Qiuya was flustered. “Do, do you need to ask—“

Xi Xiaofeng coldly put in, “Who is?”

Xi Qiuya tried hard to suppress his anger. “Of course it’s you, you—“

Xi Xiaofeng interrupted again, “Do you know what the Xi Family Village rules are for addressing the headman?”

Xi Qiuya’s face sank. Finally he said, “The headman of Xi Family Village’s words are commands, everyone must follow them even if it’s a matter of life or death… But Big Bro… Headman, if you—“

Xi Xiaofeng suddenly raised his chin. “You want to marry Little Pearl?”

Xi Qiuya was dumbstruck. He didn’t expect Xi Xiaofeng would suddenly ask him that. He had wanted to bring it up to his big brother earlier, but he didn’t know how to broach the topic. He glimpsed Little Pearl blush red all the way to her profusely white neck. He took a breath and said, “Headman, I was just thinking of mentioning this matter—“

Xi Xiaofeng waved him off. “No need to mention it.” Then he said, “Very pretty.” To Xi Qiuya these words sounded sweet.

Then he gave an order, an order that made Xi Qiuya jump.

“Tell her to take off her clothes, let me have a look.”

When he said that, not just Xi Qiuya’s, but Little Pearls’ face changed too and the other artistes were at a loss for words.

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If the headman of Xi Family Village, Second Young Master Xi’s big brother, would actually say something like that, then was there anything he wouldn’t do?

Xi Qiuya and Little Pearl blushed at the same time.

Little Pearl blushed reflexively, as a woman, and Xi Qiuya blushed because he was angry.

He was so mad he turned to the red-faced person in white next to him.

That person was none other than Xi Family Village’s “Nine Lives Steward” Tang Shijing.

Tang Shijing coughed and rose slightly from his seat. “Headman—“

Xi Xiaofeng raged, “Shut up!” And with a schwing drew the sabre at his waist.

It was just an ordinary common dull sabre.

But a sabre was still a sabre. A sabre symbolized authority, a murderous aura, the reek of blood… and other horrible scenes. Although the sabre was dull, it still had the same power.

When the sabre came out Tang Shijing shut his mouth at once and the artistes screamed in unison, all with frightened looks on their face as they covered their mouths. They had thought tonight the always elegant and refined headman of Xi Family Village would be the same distinguished gentleman as every other time he had summoned them. They never expected to see him like a brigand or roving bandit instead, sabre in hand, face suffused with a frightful murderous ferociousness.

Xi Xiaofeng’s dashing, carefree expression had completely vanished and blue veins bulged on his white face that was dripping several lines of fine sweat, his eyes giving out a cold, eerie gleam like a hibernating venomous snake.

“What’s this?”

Xi Qiuya answered indignantly, “The sabre passed down from our ancestors.”

Xi Xiaofeng said coldly, “What does this sabre represent?”

Xi Qiuya said sharply, “Big Bro—“

Xi Xiaofeng said coldly, “Xi Qiuya, if you can’t answer according to the rules, it’s a capital offense.”

Xi Qiuya suppressed his fury. “I can answer. The sabre is the law, all Xi family members must obey it.”

“Good.” Xi Xiaofeng said flatly, “As long as you know.” He raised the sabre and under the moonlight said, “Now I’m using this treasured sabre passed down in our family to order you to take off Little Pearl’s clothes.” He chuckled and said leisurely, “Let me take a look, and let everyone take a look.”

Xi Qiuya roared and Little Pearl couldn’t hold it any longer and broke down in tears. Tang Shijing took a step forward and cleared his throat as if he wanted to step in and say something.

Xi Xiaofeng brandished the sabre and cackled. “No one is allowed to mediate, no one may disobey. Whoever defies me is the enemy of Xi Family Village and will be killed on sight.”

Tang Shijing’s brows quickly furrowed. He wanted to say something but didn’t.

Xi Xiaofeng glared. “Are you taking it off or not?”

Xi Qiuya held the crying, terrified Little Pearl protectively and straightened up and said, “Big Bro, are you crazy?”

Xi Xiaofeng laughed angrily. “You dare defy the family treasured sabre’s order?”

Xi Qiuya’s face muscles twitched. With difficulty he said, “No—“

Xi Xiaofeng gave a strange laugh. “This is easy to handle. If you aren’t willing to take her clothes off, then you can jump in the river with her.”

He wagged his head complacently. “Tonight the moon is bright, the breeze is light, so lovely, the moonlight stamped on the surface of the river, —have you all heard of the Tang dynasty poet who tried to dredge up the moon, Li Bai? You all go dredge up the moon and let me have a look at it…”

Xi Qiuya’s face turned completely white. Xi Family Village had a very strange rule, you could say it was a taboo, that had been put into place two or three generations ago, which was that no Xi Family Village juniors were allowed to swim, couldn’t get in the water. Whoever got in the water was not a junior of Xi Family Village!

Xi Xiaofeng’s words were not as simple as dredging up the moon, you could even say he was expelling Xi Qiuya from the sect, and you could also say that he was sentencing Xi Qiuya and Little Pearl to death, because Xi Qiuya did not know how to swim, not to mention a weak woman like Little Pearl.

Xi Qiuya was so angry he was shaking. He honestly didn’t know why his own big brother had changed like this.

Xi Xiaofeng said, “If you two can’t dredge up the moon then don’t come up and see me… in the old days when the poet-transcendent dredged the moon and died he was all by his lonesome. You two dying like this together is truly the envy of affectionate couples, not the envy of transcendents.”

Xi Qiuya said angrily, “Big Bro, you—“

Xi Xiaofeng hacked at Xi Qiuya with his sabre.

Little Pearl screamed. Xi Qiuya didn’t expect that Xi Xiaofeng would really try to kill him. He grabbed Little Pearl and backed quickly away to the gunwale.

Now all the artistes on the boat were crying out. Xi Xiaofeng closed in and hacked again at Little Pearl.

Xi Xiaofeng’s slash at Little Pearl was ten times harder for Xi Qiuya to deal with than the slash made at himself. Little Pearl didn’t know martial arts, so of course she couldn’t dodge out of the way, and the two of them had nowhere left to retreat. Xi Qiuya put himself in front and pressed forward and just in time clapped his hands on either side of Xi Xiaofeng’s sabre.

“Big Bro, don’t push me—“

Xi Xiaofeng’s eyes seemed about to pop out of their sockets. He shouted, “You dare block this sabre!”

Xi Qiuya was stuck dumb, and Xi Xiaofeng took this moment to press three of his acupoints.

Xi Qiuya fell to the deck with a thud.

Little Pearl sobbed and threw herself on him, but she couldn’t unseal acupoints, and no matter how much she shook him he wouldn’t wake up.

Xi Xiaofeng was smiling, complacently looking at one person paralyzed, the other keening. He ordered, “Strip their clothes off and throw them into the river. Now!”

One of the artistes couldn’t keep her voice from shaking as she said, “Headman, your own brother, why?”

Another woman, experienced in the ways of the world, said, “Headman, Second Young Master doesn’t know how to respect you, just teach him a good lesson, but it’s not worth taking someone’s life…”

Xi Xiaofeng laughed.

Everyone was thinking the same when Xi Xiaofeng suddenly swung his sabre.

One slash, two heads. The two artistes who spoke were beheaded.

This horrible scene of violence made everyone not dare to cry out in alarm, no one dared say anything, they didn’t even dare to move.

Xi Xiaofeng slowly sheathed his sabre. Once it was in the scabbard, he issued an order that set one’s teeth on edge, “Do as I said.”

At this point, who would dare not do what he said?

Little Pearl was a beautiful, pure girl. Under the moonlight her well-proportioned, beautiful fairskinned figure stirred even the world-weary women among them, and they felt pained for her. Her tightly closed legs, bright pink bud, even her eyes she didn’t dare open were closed lightly like this were so lovely.

Even so, Xi Xiaofeng wanted to toss such a living person into the river so she could “dredge up the moon”.

Xi Qiuya certainly was a goodlooking man too. He was fairskinned but with well-built muscles, delicate, yet powerful arms. Too bad that because his acupoints had been sealed he was unable to put up any resistance at all as he was thrown into the river.

Although the able-bodied men of Xi Family Village faced Little Pearl’s lovely body, they didn’t dare touch her, but because their headman, Xi Xiaofeng said, “Now!”

Who knew what had gotten into the headman?

If they should accidentally enrage him, good gracious, who know but that they might end up the same way, with their head separated from their body?

Only once Little Pearl and Xi Qiuya were thrown into the river did Xi Xiaofeng complacently say, “Alright, no one is allowed to get them out of there. Listen up, whoever rescues them, I’ll kill him.”

No one dared rescue them.

Then Xi Xiaofeng ordered for the boat to head back. On the way there was zither strumming and singing, hard drinking and poetry reciting, reciting till tears streamed down their faces, then they stopped.

The artistes only then dared to vomit.

The river waters were bright and clear, the moonlight cool and clean.

Who knew that in the midst of such a moonlit scene, on the most luxurious pleasure boat, on the finest waters, such a filthy, brutal, savage thing had happened!

But in the moment that Little Pearl was thrown into the river, two people in a small boat by the bank of Straddling Tiger River were shook.

The wounded young one with the cold expression said, “Someone fell into the river.”

The other young one with the gentle smile said, “They were thrown in.”

And so they put their oars in the water at once. The pleasure boat was already on its way back home.

NOTES

In other words, just after the full moon, which is on the fifteenth of the month. I’m a little confused by Wen Rui’an’s word choice here. 鐫 means to carve or engrave or sculpt, usually of wood or stone. But here, along with the next paragraph, it seems he’s talking about just making a sabre, like forging one, as in the next phrase he says 鐫冶, carve and smelt. Xi Jiujing 習酒井. The second character is “liquor” 酒. ”Artistes” translates 妓, which is often translated as “prostitute”, but that is incorrect. They were entertainers, trained in singing, dancing, playing instruments, poetry. The geisha before Japan had geisha. Sex was often involved, but that was between the woman and her client. It was often seen more as a kind of romantic relationship, if not a frivolous one. But they were not “prostitutes”. Artiste is term that fits pretty well what they were. They were professional performers. “Blue quarters” translates 青樓. 青 is a color word that covers blue to green and everywhere in between, depending on context. 樓 is a multi-storied building, variously translated. Since 青樓 refers to pleasure quarters, I went with “blue quarters”.

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