Song in the Clouds Chapter 27 Part1

This chapter is the nail-biting kind of exciting, with duels all around and hundreds of spectators watching. Readers get a glimpse of Liu Bing Yi finally standing up, taking the limelight and commanding respect. It is very interesting how the foreshadowing works here in this pa.s.sage, with Liu Bing Yi and Liu Fu Ling on the highest point, overlooking the crowd, defeating Ke'er Dada as allies.

Ignoring the fact Liu Bing Yi will be evil later on in the novel, he is really quite likeable here as he shares a comfortable camerederie with Yun Ge, able to tease her and know she wouldn't get p.i.s.sed off. I really enjoyed reading this moment he shared with Yun Ge, all gruff and manly 'no-I-certainly-do-not-care' facade on, I found it really adorable.

 Like everyone, I feel really bad for Liu Fu Ling, but he's so understanding, so perfect that I totally get why people would prefer Meng Jue just because he is so complex, so dark, yet so loving. The problem with Meng Jue is that I find him too deep, too hard to understand in terms of husband material, whereas Liu Fu Ling shares this immediate connection with Yun Ge, they just totally and completely 'get' each other, which would make him my choice for Yun Ge.

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After Wei Qing and Huo Qu Bing thoroughly defeated the Xiong Nu tribe, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Xiong Nu tribe was never again a pressing threat to the Hans; but following the weakening of the Han Dynasty, the Xiong Nus gathered strength again, repeatedly hara.s.sing the borders of Han. Besides the threat from the Xiong Nus, the second largest threat to the Han Dynasty came from a nomadic tribe slowly gaining strength – Qiang. The people of Western Qiang once allied themselves with the Xiong Nu, gathered a force of 10,000 to attack Han during the last days of Emperor Wu of Han. Although the attack was quelled, the Han people suffered heavy losses too, causing Emperor Wu of Han to die with hatred in his heart, reminding the four officials he entrusted his orphaned son to, to be wary of the Qiang people.

After the late emperor’s death, the Qiang people saw the Han becoming weaker with frequent internal strife and started to l.u.s.t after the He Xi land which Wei Qing and Huo Qu Bing s.n.a.t.c.hed from the Xiong Nu. The land at He Xi was filled with vast green gra.s.slands and water, the dream heaven of nomads, the sacred place the Heavens bestowed upon them. For that piece of land, the Qiangs lobbied with the Xiong Nu in Xi Yu, often setting up tentative attacks against the Han, and even plotted for the rebellion of the Qiang, Xiong Nu and other Xi Yu people who have settled in the He Xi area after pledging allegiance to Han. An intense struggle for the land erupted, especially at the military pa.s.s in He Huang, where many small skirmishes erupted frequently. The Qiang tribe often ma.s.sacred whole villages to silence them, hoping to gain strength through numbers, maintaining the absolute majority of the Qiang people at He Huang. As the Qiang was a nomadic tribe who wors.h.i.+p freedom, Western Qiang, Northern Qiang, Southern Qiang, Central Qiang did not have a central royal family, but they were slowly coming together with the common goal of conquering the He Xi. If the Qiang unite, then allied themselves with Xiong Nu, together with the tens of thousands of Xiong Nu and Qiang descendents who have settled in Guan Zhong, if war were to erupt, it might sweep across the whole north-eastern border of the Han.

Therefore, today, when the Prince of Central Qiang – Ke’er Dada and his princess Aliya represented the whole Qiang tribe to pay their respects and celebrate the Han New Year, a sudden silence descended on the officials, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Ke'er Dada. The silence affected the female guests too, no one knew what had transpired, but didn’t dare to speak, everyone fixing their eyes on the Emperor’s throne, contemplating the foreign prince Ke’er Dada. Yun Ge though, attracted by Aliya’s attire, made a slight exclamation of surprise before moving her gaze to Ke’er Dada.

Ke’er Dada wasn’t tall, but his shoulders were broad and muscular, his brows thick, his gait powerful, looking very impressive. He paid his respected to Liu Fu Ling, saying loudly. “They say that Han is vast and rich in natural resources. After what I’ve witnessed today, I’d say they weren’t wrong. Today, the brightness of the jewels rendered me blind, the sweet delicacies presented rendered me speechless, and the maidens like fairies made me blush and my heart race….”

Xu Ping Jun laughed. “This king might speak crudely, but it is very amusing. He speaks like he is singing.”

Yun Ge laughed too. “To those who live on horses, songs are their language. Jie Jie! Although they might not speak as gracefully as the Han, but they share the same heart.” Under Ke’er Dada’s influence, Yun Ge’s speech took on a sing-song lilt. Xu Ping Jun knew Yun Ge was from Xi Yu, and possessed a different perspective when it came to the Hu, and other foreign people, so she only smiled, not replying.

At Ke’er Dada’s words, everyone laughed proudly and scornfully, despising his crudeness and proud of everything he just praised.

Liu Fu Ling remained expressionless, patiently waiting for the ‘but’ in his words.

“………But, the vast blue skies have the eagles soaring, the endless gra.s.sland have strong horses galloping. My Han brothers, where are your eagles and horses?” He waved his hand as he spoke, and four huge men like iron paG.o.das stepped forth bearing presents. With each step they took, the tables shook slightly. Yu An dodged to guard Liu Fu Ling, while wanting to shout for them to retreat. The nomads had indomitable spirit, their tribe full of heroes and warriors, even the head of their tribe – Chanyu, Khagan, Emir, must be heroes to command respect. When Ke’er Dada saw how the Emperor of this great Han must be protected by a eunuch, his eyes couldn’t conceal his derision. He was about to command his four guards to retreat when unexpectedly, Liu Fu Ling shot Yu An a sharp look. Yu An could only retreat silently. The four huge warriors closed in on Liu Fu Ling, but he acted as if nothing was happening; only smiling slightly at Ke’er Dada. The four warriors only stopped when they were right in front of his table. Liu Fu Ling looked calm, smiling at the warriors in front of him, said unhurriedly. “The eagles in the heavens won’t unleash their claws unless they see a poisonous snake, the strong horses on the field wouldn’t kick up their metal-shoed hooves unless they see a threatening wolf. My brothers on the gra.s.sland, do you think an eagle that has folded its wings is then a wild goose? Or mistake a resting strong horse for a deer?”

Liu Fu Ling used the short tune of the gra.s.slands [1] to reply Ke’er Dada’s question, showing him due respect, but his words acting as a warning for those who would try to cross the Hans. Liu Fu Ling displayed both grace and power, rendering Ke’er Dada mute for the moment.

For him to shoot him questions so quickly using the short tune of the gra.s.slands showed this Emperor’s familiarity with their local customs and values. Just this point was enough to stop him from looking down on this gentle Han Emperor. Ke’er Dada stood in stunned silence for a while, then commanded his four guards to stand to the side.

He bowed to Liu Fu Ling. “Emperor sent from heaven, our warriors have travelled a long way, not for jewels, nor for good wine, and definitely not for beauties; just like how powerful eagles will only soar with powerful eagles, strong horses will only run with strong horses, warriors would only want to spar with warriors. We have sought for brothers worthy of presenting our curved knife, but why is it I only see wild geese wagging their tongues, and suckling baby deer? “

The scheming, faction-forming scholars and civil officials so used to fighting with their sharp tongues were so angry their faces turned red in an instant. The young military officers so used to being protected by their fathers, led by Huo Yu and Huo Yun almost flipped their tables.

Liu Fu Ling might have remained expressionless, but his heart sunk. To think, in the past, the great Han’s court had Sima Qian, Sima Xiangru, Dongfang Shuo, Zhufu Yan for civil officials…..Wei Qing, Huo Qu Bing, Lee Guang, Zhao Po Nu as military officers.

There were stars that excelled in the arts; stars that excelled in the military s.h.i.+ning at court, any one of them would have rendered the borders speechless. But now…….. Wild geese with wagging tongues? Suckling baby deer? As the saying goes, the person who best understands your weakness is your energy, and how right that was!

Liu Fu Ling’s gaze slowly scanned across his civil and military officials: Grand Marshal Huo Guang sat expressionlessly on his seat. Every single detail of the banquet today will be known across Chang An and the rest of the world by tomorrow. Huo Guang seemed to be waiting to see how Liu Fu Ling dealt with this provocation in front of the world, waiting for Liu Fu Ling to make a mistake, then he will enter the battlefield with a smile, letting the world know how wise he was as he took care of Ke'er Dada.

‘Puppet Chancellor’ Tian Qian Qiu, as usual, was following Huo Guang – if Huo Guang remained silent, so did he; if Huo Guang wasn’t moving, then so wasn’t he. His eyes closed, his breath held, like he was in a trance.

First ranked Leader of the Gentlemen of the Palace: Huo Yu, Huo Yun

Liu Fu Ling smiled as he turned his gaze to Liu Bing Yi, seated at the very end of the officials. Liu Bing Yi hesitated, but when he saw Ke'er Dada looking down at the Han court with his chin up, and a sneer on his face, the last of his hesitation disappeared. This was no time to weigh his personal gains or losses. With a nod at Liu Fu Ling, he rose and walked towards the front, singing:

“With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the celery of the fields.
I have here admirable guests ;
The lutes are struck, and the organ is blown [for them] ; –
The organ is blown till its tongues are all moving.
The baskets of offerings [also] are presented to them.
The men love me,
And will show me the perfect path.

With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the southernwood of the fields.
I have here admirable guests ;
Whose virtuous fame is grandly brilliant.
They show the people not to be mean ;
The officers have in them a pattern and model.
I have good wine,
Which my admirable guests drink, enjoying themselves.

With pleased sounds the deer call to one another,
Eating the salsola of the fields.
I have here admirable guests ;
For whom are struck the lutes, large and small.
The lutes, large and small, are struck,
And our harmonious joy is long-continued.
I have good wine,
To feast and make glad the hearts of my admirable guests.” [2]
Liu Bing Yi walked as he sang, his sleeves billowing, walking with an easy grace. The wide, empty front hall, with over a hundred officials seated woodenly, all stared at him coldly. Huo Yu, Huo Shan, and more even had lips curled with derision. His voice only managed a small echo in the wide hall, lone and weak; but his robust bearing, rich voice, and grace made him seem like a crane standing among chickens. His imposing appearance made it seem like he alone could mend the sky, commanding respect and drawing praise from those who saw him.

‘Cry of the deer’ from the ‘Cla.s.sics of Poetry’ was a celebratory song the n.o.blemen of Central Plains sang when they received their friends cordially. Among the musicians seated, one or two sharp ones had already realized Liu Bing Yi was trying to use a solemn Han song of generosity as a reply to the provocative song of the Qiang. The angry musicians took in the Qiang Prince’s arrogance and Liu Bing Yi’s magnanimity, then a few brave souls started to play in accompaniment. At first it was just a scattered two or three, but soon all the musicians picked up on Liu Bing Yi’s intention, united against a common enemy, they started playing for Liu Bing Yi, singing as they played, without a single command being issued.

The singers started to sing along with the zithers. The dancers started to sing along with the zithers.

One, two, three of them….. All the musicians, all the singers, all the dancers….

They forgot that they were only supposed to be the entertainment, the backdrop of this banquet, forgot that the responsibility of protecting their country fell to the generals, forgot the punishment they would face for singing without command; this was the first time they sang without a care for their status or their duties.

‘Cry of the deer’ was the first song of ‘Minor Odes of the Kingdom’, the point of the song was its large power. There was solemnity in the lively tune, power and authority despite the gentleness. What moved everyone were these singing people. They might not know the proper language for which to write a formal declaration to their enemies, or martial arts for which to defend their country from the frontline, but they were defending the power of Han in their own way, refusing to let others belittle them. Although they might be born lowly, their will to defend their country was much more n.o.ble compared to those high ranking officials and n.o.blemen not doing a stroke of work. They were singing for the dignity of the people, conveying their determination to defend their land.

In the end, Liu Bing Yi was only smiling, standing still beside Ke’er Dada, with his hands behind his back. The whole hall was filled with the stately, glorious song – ‘Cry of the Deer’. Hundreds of musicians, singers, dancers sang gravely from every corner of the great hall. Their voices moving across the great hall like a roar, stunning everyone into respect. Although Liu Bing Yi was standing alone in front of Ke’er Dada, but there were tens of thousands of the Han people behind him.

The song ended.

Ke’er Dada’s proud smile faded completely, his eyes filled with shock. Will it be easy attacking such Han people? Even the lowly, weak dancing maidens stared at him in the eye, singing loudly, and inspiring awe despite their smiles! Liu Bing Yi saluted Ke’er Dada with his hands clasped over each other. “This dynasty is a country of music and ceremony, we use fine wine to soothe the bodies of our weary guests, our voices to lighten their homesick hearts, and we will only show our weaponry to our enemies. If our guests from afar would like to cement our friends.h.i.+p in their own way, we are willing to comply.”

Ke’er Dada hesitated, but refused to concede defeat. Before he came, he had pledged to all the tribal leaders of Qiang that he will definitely imprint the heroism of the Qiang on the hearts of the people in Chang An. The four he brought along were specially chosen warriors among all the warriors in the tribe, according to the command of his father; he wanted to use this opportunity to cement the other tribal leaders’ faith in him, merging all tribes as one, expanding their military strength. Liu Bing Yi knew that although the wind had been knocked out of Ke’er Dada’s sails, he still hadn’t conceded defeat.

‘Your highness, I am the last of the hundred officials in Han. I’d be really honoured if your warriors are willing to duel with me.”

The warrior behind Ke’er Dada- Zhe Chi’er was already angling for a battle. When he heard Liu Bing Yi taking the initiative to issue a challenge, he couldn’t temp his feelings down any longer, turned to Ke’er Dada saying “My king, I am willing to fight.”

Ke’er Dada looked towards Liu Fu Ling, who said “Exchange blows as friends, but only to a point.”

Yu An quickly ordered for the arena to be cleared, and secretly summoned the best physicians over.

Xu Ping Jun didn’t even dare to breathe when she saw Liu Bing Yi walking out of the crowd. Now that she heard that he was going to spar with their warriors, a confusing mix of emotions a.s.sailed her. As a Han, the anger she felt at the Qiang prince’s provocation and insult was no less than any other, so when she saw her husband stepping out to sing, exuding a n.o.ble aura, treating the foreign king with magnanimity, she felt proud and excited.

That man is her husband!

She could die without regrets now that she had married such a man.

On the other hand, because that man is her husband, besides pride and excitement, she was gripped with worry and fear too. Yun Ge reached for Xu Ping Jun’s hand. “Don’t worry! Da Ge was once the head of the youxia in Chang An, his martial arts must be a cut above the rest; how else would the youxia bow to him?”
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Ke’er Dada smiled, then said. “Respectable Emperor of Heaven, since we are duelling, why not make it a round of three to determine the winner? Let this be proof of our friends.h.i.+p once this spreads around the world in song.”

Liu Fu Ling returned his smile, having already prepared for that. “As you wish. Advisory Chancellor Meng Jue, step forward to receive this edict. I command you to spar with the Qiang warrior as a representative of Han.”

This effectively rendered the whole hall speechless. What is his majesty thinking, sending forth a civil official?

It would be understandable if it were Huo Guang’s command, but his majesty? Even if Meng Jue offended his majesty in some way, and his majesty wished to use other people to kill him, he wouldn’t have chosen such an important occasion to fool around right?

Surprise didn’t even register on Meng Jue’s face; he already knew that during the strange ma.s.sacre that night outside Chang An, he had sparred with Yu An, Qi Xi and the rest, so it wasn’t strange at all that his majesty would know he knew martial arts. He smiled as he rose, moved forward, kowtowed and received the edict.
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The third representative?

Liu Fu Ling looked at Hup Guang coldly. Huo Guang knew in this round of his secret battle with Liu Fu Ling, he had made the wrong move.

That year, all the guards Crown Prince Ju chose to protect Liu Bing Yi were the cream of the crop. Liu Bing Yi was always tricking Death; in order to survive, naturally he had to have a good set of martial arts skills. Later, he mixed with the youxia of the land, and learnt an even wider mix of martial arts. His ‘Da Ge’ name was not for nothing, so both Huo Guang and Liu Fu Ling knew that Liu Bing Yi was a safe bet.

Although he wasn’t sure of Meng Jue’s martial arts skills, he knew Liu Fu Ling wouldn’t treat this lightly, so Liu Fu Ling must have already had confidence in Meng Jue winning, and he wouldn’t doubt Liu Fu Ling’s choice. Liu Fu Ling was employing an extraordinary method to not only defuse the escalating tension, but also to use today’s show of bravery to promote Liu Bing Yi and Meng Jue; and Huo Guang would be unable argue against it.

Backed into a corner, Huo Guang didn’t dare to dally any longer, and was about to nominate a Huo to be a representative.

Princess Aliya, by Ke’er Dada’s side had remained silent till now, suddenly stepped forth and bowed. “Respectable majesty, Aliya requests to fight the third duel.” Ke’er Dada already had someone else in mind, so now that his sister had volunteered herself, he was a little unhappy, but then he thought: this sister of mine is good with whips, second, she is a woman. I only know that the females of the gra.s.slands are no weaker than the males, but I’ve never heard a woman of the Central Plains being good at martial arts, if the Han chose a male representative, even if they win, they win without dignity, it would be good to see how they deal with this.

Liu Fu Ling already had this duel bagged and didn’t really care who won the third round. If the Qiang chose a male, he would allow Huo Guang to nominate any Huo to spar. All the sons of Huo, though arrogant, were not weak. Naturally it’d be good to win, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing if they lost either! But now, a woman has stepped forth. It would be hard to deal with this indeed. He thought that the few palace maids Yu An personally trained would be good, but today only Mo Cha was serving in the hall. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be good for the officials to know his palace maids knew martial arts; it would only be a recipe for disaster. Maybe he should just let Aliya pick her opponent among the female guests present, pa.s.sing this off as entertainment for the females, a topic to be discussed over tea.

Just when he was still deep in thought, a clear voice penetrated through his thoughts. “Your majesty, your servant is willing to spar with the princess.”

Yun Ge saw Liu Fu Ling’s hesitation, and made the decision to fight this duel. Xu Ping Jun wanted to pull her back but to no avail. Yun Ge had already left her seat and was already kneeling at the throne to make her request.

When Liu Fu Ling saw Yun Ge kneeling on the floor, his heart filled with the agony of having to make this decision, but also, warmth. In this vast hall, he wasn’t alone in this high seat. How good was Yun Ge at martial arts? Although he didn’t know, and after spending so much time with Yun Ge, he knew she read books on cooking, poetry, history, but he never once saw her flip through the martial arts manuals in the palace. Based on her personality, would she ever force herself to do something she wasn’t interested in?

He wanted to refuse with an excuse, but he looked into her eyes, and saw that she was begging him with her eyes “Accede to my request! Accede to my request! I promise I’ll be fine”, and Ke’er Dada and all the foreign amba.s.sadors were like wolves waiting to pounce, their eyes coldly judging his every move. Liu Fu Ling could only mention for Yun Ge to stand, acceding to her request with a raise of his hand.

Liu Fu Ling shot Qi Xi a look and Qi Xi quickly took the opportunity when asking Yun Ge what her weapon of choice would be to remind her “His majesty already has a plan, just admit defeat if you can’t fight, you mustn’t get hurt.” Yun Ge’s face wreathed in smiles, nodded vigorously. “Of course, of course. I wouldn’t treat my puny life as a joke.” Qi Xi asked “What weapon would missy like?” Yun Ge scratched her head, her face one of confusion. “I haven’t thought about it yet. I’ll tell you when I’ve done so.” Qi Xi felt like a flock of crows just flew past his head, and left with cold sweat running down his back.

Even the despondent Huo Cheng Jun, who looked disinterested at the ongoing proceedings thus far, set aside her wine cup, and looked at Yun Ge with mixed emotion. Not to mention Xu Ping Jun, at this moment, the three on stage were all the people closest to her. She wished she could fly on stage too, to fight beside them, but she couldn’t be of any help at all, only praying fervently in her heart, praying to all the G.o.ds and Heavens, for everything to go smoothly, for it to really be ‘up to a point’.

Yun Ge acted like Meng Jue didn’t exist, only bowed to Liu Bing Yi with a smile, sat herself beside him, then started staring Aliya up and down, left and right, treating the whole thing lightly, like it was fun. Liu Bing Yi and Meng Jue stared at Yun Ge wordlessly. How could she dare to embarra.s.s herself with her lousy set of skills? [3] If it wasn’t for the gravity of this function, they would have grabbed her by her neck and thrown her back to where she came from!

The first round was Liu Bing Yi against Zhe Chi’er. Just before Liu Bing Yi stepped into the arena, Meng Jue smiled and murmured a few words to him. Liu Bing Yi smiled, nodded and went in calmly. Zhe Chi’er boomed. “When I kill on horseback, I use a spiked club. When I’m off my horse, I’m best at wrestling and close combat, fighting without weapons, but you may choose a weapon.”

Liu Bing Yi chose to repay frankness with frankness, saluted him with both hands. “Since young, I have learnt a variety of skills, I can’t say what I’m best at, but I’m willing to fight with my bare hands with you, brother.” Zhe Chi’er nodded, and started his form of attack. Zhe Chi’er might look big and burly, but his moves were as fine as they were rough. His legs employed wrestling moves of ‘stay’ and ‘dodge’, his fists using the ‘fast’ and ‘bind’ moves of close combat. His fists struck relentlessly, fast, one round after the next, until Liu Bing Yi was unable to dodge from his flying fists.

Just as Zhe Chi’er said, he only knew these two forms of martial arts. It was precisely because he only knew two forms, which is why he had honed them to near perfection after more than ten years of training. The stability of his legs and the speed of his fists matched each other seamlessly. Those who knew martial arts could see that Zhe Chi’er had unconsciously integrated the Han form of martial arts, simplifying the complicated moves, roughing up the graceful ones. Those maidens and madams who didn’t know anything about martial arts though, found his moves extremely boring. In contrast, Liu Bing Yi’s flying kicks, his moves at times simple, at times complicated; sometimes slow and gentle, sometimes strong and fast, dazzling the maidens and madams, keeping them on the edge of their seats.

Yun Ge was very confused. Da Ge’s moves were graceful and pretty, but she just felt like he wasn’t using his full strength. Liu Bing Yi gave off this feeling that he had learnt a broad range, but didn’t hone his skills to perfection, though she knew he definitely wasn’t someone like that. His skill set was broad, but definitely not superficial, he would pick the moves he thought best and learn them till he had perfected it.

In a blink of an eye, they had already exchanged over a hundred blows, but were both unscathed. Liu Bing Yi had some understanding of the gra.s.slands’ martial arts and after studying Zhe Chi’er hundred over moves, he already knew what to do. He told Zhe Chi’er “Be careful.” He switched moves all of a sudden, using Zhe Chi’er’s moves against him. Zhe Chi’er was a simple minded man. He learnt wrestling and fighting when he was five or six, then devoted himself solely to practicing those two, not even bothering to know if there are other better forms of martial arts that may exist in this world.

After more than ten years, he had unknowingly mastered all the forms of martial arts known to the people of the gra.s.slands. Even if Liu Bing Yi changed his moves, he would still counter the same way, no matter what moves his opponent threw, whether they were bluffs or real moves, he would counter them accordingly, but now that Liu Bing Yi was suddenly adopting his own moves against him, Zhe Chi’er’s mind went blank. He thought, how could he know my form of martial arts? I know what move he is going to use next! But how do I counter it? Then wouldn’t he know I would know how to counter it? He probably would have already prepped himself up for that, so how should I fight….

Liu Bing Yi made use of Zhe Chi’er distraction to hook his leg, lean forward and throw Zhe Chi’er on the ground with the most ancient wrestling move – the shoulder throw. Everyone else was confused too when they suddenly saw the two of them using the same moves against each other.

Even after Liu Bing Yi had thrown Zhe Chi’er to the ground, they still weren’t able to react. Liu Fu Ling was the first to clap, then all at once, everyone realized that Liu Bing Yi won, and started cheering loudly.

Liu Bing Yi helped Zhe Chi’er stand, Zhe Chi’er’s face was ruddy red, still looking lost even as he said. “Your skills are really good, you’ve won.” Liu Bing Yi knew that he had inflicted trauma on this honest man’s heart. From now on, whenever he made his move, he will first be hesitant. Zhe Chi’er possessed good skills, in his single-mindedness; he had already unconsciously incorporated the highest state of martial arts –‘defend’ in his moves. As long as he wasn’t distracted, it wouldn’t be easy for anyone else to attack him.

He had already grew fond of Zhe Chi’er and was about to explain and point that out to him. I didn’t defeat you; you were first defeated by yourself. Then he remembered, even if Zhe Chi’er got better, he was still a Qiang, if both nations ever went to war, his weakness would be the Han’s chance. He chose to only give him a small smile, then walked off after a bow.

Ke’er Dada managed to smile with some effort, sent Liu Fu Ling his congratulations. “The Han warriors are good indeed!”

Liu Fu Ling didn’t show any happiness on his face, remaining expressionless as always. “The skills of the gra.s.slands are good too. This was the first time I’ve witnessed such a stunning display of wrestling and fighting skills.” Because of his sincerity, his listeners could feel that he was truly praising them.

Ke’er Dada thought, though Zhe Chi’er lost, he lost because of their own martial arts skills and not because of the skills of Han; then felt a bit better. He turned to Meng Jue. “I would like to fight the second round with you.” Meng Jue thought that since Ke’er Dada was a king, and came prepared with warriors, he wouldn’t fight the next round. Contrary to expectations, he was the one to issue the challenge. Since the challenge had been issued, Meng Jue could only bow with a smile. “Thank you for your tutelage your majesty.”

Yun Ge wasn’t even looking at the stage, but instead asked Liu Bing Yi happily. “Da Ge, what kinds of martial arts are you good at exactly? There are people here studying your moves for a long time, but still unable to figure out. Da Ge, you really are too ‘deep without revealing anything’! [4]” Liu Bing Yi was still unhappy that Yun Ge had jumped out to blindly join their fight, so he said huffily. “Since you have so much time, you might as well think of how to lose with dignity.” “Why, you belittle me so! What if I win?”

Liu Bing Yi gave Yun Ge a onceover solemnly, then finally said. “After this banquet, go consult a physician, you must be having severely deluded dreams [5]!” Yun Ge harrumphed and ignored him. After a while, she heard Liu Bing Yi call her name, then reminded her carefully. “Yun Ge, this is only a game, don’t treat it too seriously. If you can’t it, remember to shout that you won’t play anymore.” Yun Ge knew he was worried for her, nodded. “I know. Thank you for your concern.”

Liu Bing Yi snorted. “There are more than enough people concerned about you, I can’t be bothered with you. With his majesty on top, of course you won’t be in danger. I’m concerned about Meng Jue’s puny life. I’m afraid he would be unable to control himself, flouting the rules into the process, rus.h.i.+ng onstage to save you.”

Yun Ge scoffed disbelievingly, and refused to talk to Liu Bing Yi anymore.

During their conversation, Meng Jue and Ke’er Dada had already started to exchange blows. One using a sword, the other, a dagger. One employed agile, nimble moves, like snow falling for nine days; the other using moves that were fierce, safe moves, like a fierce tiger moving down a mountain or a long snake out of its hole.

After observing the fight for a while, Liu Bing Yi’s brow slowly started to furrow. The Qiang had already lost one round, if Ke’er Dada lost this round, with two out of three losses, even if Aliya defeated Yun Ge, the Qiang would still lose. In order to turn the tide to their favour, Ke’er Dada was giving it his all, without a care for the cost in order to win. Their skills should be on par, but Meng Jue was smarter than most, and dueling is not only a comparison of their martial arts skills, but also their wit, so Meng Jue should have had a 70% chance of winning, but Ke’er Dada was fighting like he had burned all his bridges behind him, forcing Meng Jue to counter move for move. Even if he won in the end, the price might be…...

Yun Ge didn’t intend to watch the duel at all, but when she saw Liu Bing Yi’s face getting more and more grave, she quickly turned her gaze to the stage. As she watched, her brow slowly furrowed as well.

If it was hard for the spectators to watch, it was even tougher for those actually involved in the duel.

Meng Jue didn’t expect Ke’er Dada to be this extreme, or this aggressive, even though he was a king; he was fighting with his life on the line. How was this comparing skills ‘to a point’? This was totally a battle fought between deadly enemies. There was one other complication in this battle – Ke’er Dada could harm him but he couldn’t harm Ke’er Dada. If Ke’er Dada wounds him, or even kills him, he could just get away with a mere apology; but if he wounds Ke’er Dada, it would be giving the chance an excuse for them to gather the other tribes of Xi Yu to attack Han.

He had once lived in Xi Yu for a long period of time and was familiar with their feelings of giving up their land to Han. After enduring long years of war, and the previous infighting within bureaucracy in Han, the Han officials’ oppression, bullying and stripping the tribes of Xi Yu of their rights greatly enhanced their hatred for Han. If news reached them that the Qiang prince travelled far and wide to Han to offer his congratulations for the Han New Year, but was instead wounded by a Han official, he was afraid that this tiny flame might just turn into a great forest fire.

Meng Jue mainly learnt his skills from the a.s.sa.s.sins of Xi Yu, his real skills are not fit for long combat, the main point of his moves were to use the simplest, most energy saving way to kill his opponent. In terms of killing moves, Ke’er Dada’s skills weren’t as good as Meng Jue’s, but Meng Jue couldn’t employ a single one of those killing moves, he could only draw on his many years of training to soften Ke’er Dada’s killing blows.

This round got more and more dangerous with one attacking ruthlessly, the other attacking with apprehension. There were many times Ke’er Dada’s dagger just brushed across Meng Jue’s vital points, causing the women below to scream in horror.

Under Ke’er Dada’s ruthless attack, Meng Jue’s moves got weaker and weaker.

After over two hundred moves, Ke’er Dada got very restless, his eyes, his lips curled in a cruel smile, his dagger swept across with broad strokes, guarding the left side of his body where Meng Jue’s sword was pointed, preventing him from piercing his vital points, but allowing his stomach to be left unguarded, clearly meaning to kill Meng Jue even if he himself sustains major injuries. His curved dagger struck straight at Meng Jue’s neck, his speed fast. But Meng Jue was faster by a bit. That little bit was enough for him to switch his sword from his right hand to his left when the dagger brushed past his neck, unexpectedly using Ke’er Dada’s mistake to aim straight at his heart.

At that crucial instant between life and death, Meng Jue’s body made instinctively made the decision for him despite his overriding concerns. His right hand threw the sword, his left caught it. Without any fancy tricks, one could even say it was a very jagged move, but it was fast, faster than anyone could imagine, faster than anyone could see. The sword was pointed straight at Ke’er Dada’s heart.

Ke’er Dada suddenly discovered that Meng Jue could wield his sword with his left hand too, and it was then that he also realized how deliberately slow Meng Jue was fighting beforehand! The look in Meng Jue’s eyes was so calm it looked cold and ruthless. Ke’er Dada was reminded of those lone wolves the hunters on the gra.s.slands are deathly afraid of. Lone wolves are small wolves that have survived after its pack was ma.s.sacred, once they grew up, they would be the most cruel and ruthless of wolves. His eyes widened at the realization of his mistake. And the price of his mistake is……Death!

A dagger swung towards Meng Jue’s neck like a meteor, harnessing the power of thunder. A sword secretly pointed towards Ke’er Dada’s heart like lightning, with all the stealth of a poisonous snake. Suddenly confusion and hesitation appeared in the cold, bloodthirsty depths of Meng Jue’s eyes, and…pity?! Ke’er Dada couldn’t believe his eyes. Meng Jue abruptly pointed his sword down, s.h.i.+fting it away from Ke’er Dada’s heart, moving it to his abdomen instead. Ke’er Dada’s dagger was still coming down on Meng Jue’s neck. Meng Jue stopped caring about Ke’er Dada, or even about this battle, he was only calmly, quietly staring elsewhere. Just when his life was about to end, the look on his eyes was one of tenderness, of unrestrained longing.

“No!!!”

A gut wrenching, piercing scream rang out.

Ke’er Dada came to his senses, abruptly moving his dagger away. His dagger stopped at Meng Jue’s throat, blood already gus.h.i.+ng out from his wound. If he moved his dagger away just a second later, Meng Jue would have already been beheaded, and he would only sustain an abdomen injury at most, or maybe even be unscathed because the point of Meng Jue’s sword stopped when it touched his skin.

The instant Meng Jue moved his sword away the outcome was set, Meng Jue seemed to think this wasn’t even worth his time, all his emotion was written in his eyes as he stared elsewhere. Ke’er Dada stared blankly at Meng Jue, his eyes searching, contemplating the man in front of him and was stunned at the tenderness and longing in Meng Jue’s eyes.

Meng Jue quickly recollected himself, smiling at Ke’er Dada, all the tenderness and longing swallowed in the murky depths of his eyes; his eyes unreadable once again. Ke’er Dada couldn’t figure him out at all. In just an instant, so many emotions crossed this man’s eyes, and he couldn’t believe the man in front of him was the same man he glimpsed just a moment ago. Immediately, he turned to look at where Meng Jue was just looking at.

A girl stood frozen at the bottom of the stage, her eyes wide, her gaze fixed on Meng Jue, her mouth still half open. She must have been the one who cried out.

In her eyes, there was fear, worry and even the glimmer of tears.

The scene of Ke’er Dada’s dagger headed straight for Meng Jue’s neck kept playing in Yun Ge’s mind. She didn’t know whether she screamed, she only remembered that she seemed to have jumped up, rushed out, then…

She didn’t know why she was suddenly standing alone in front of the area either. What did she see in his eyes? She only knew that in that instant, everything she saw in his eyes, felt like a thousand knives stabbing at her heart. But when she looked again…. There was nothing. His eyes were the same as always, calm, tender, but no warmth in those dark depths.

She quickly turned away, but her gaze clashed with someone else’s.

Liu Fu Ling sat alone, high above the rest, silent gazing at her.

He probably saw everything that happened just now right? He saw her forgetting herself, saw her losing control, saw everything. She couldn’t see his expression, but she was afraid to see crack in his eyes. That crack would be imprinted on her heart.

She suddenly felt that she was attracting too much attention standing there, quickly retreating back to her seat, regret and sadness pressing down hard on her heart, cutting off all air. Then she saw him shake his head slightly at her, indicating that she didn’t need to be this way. He understood, she could almost feel the comfort emitted from his eyes.

Yun Ge felt bitter, touched and an indescribable mix of emotions.

The whole hall was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop.

Most people didn’t see what just happened, either because they didn’t know martial arts, or because of distance or the angle in which they saw the battle unfold; they only saw Meng Jue’s sword pointed towards Ke’er Dada’s ribs and Ke’er Dada’s dagger at Meng Jue’s neck. Only Yu An, high above everyone else, had a clear view of what just unfolded, and Liu Bing Yi seated nearby managed to hazard a pretty good guess.

Aliya didn’t understand, her brother had won, but why was he still standing dazedly on stage? She stood and turned to Liu Fu Ling. “Your majesty, my brother’s dagger was at Meng Jue’s vital point, if he didn’t stop, Meng Jue would definitely have died, so even if Meng Jue’s sword pierced my brother, it would only inflict a minor injury.”

Liu Fu Ling shot a look at Yu An, who nodded. What Aliya said was absolutely correct, except for one part, but besides Meng Jue, no one else would truly know what exactly happened. Liu Fu Ling announced. “The Qiang prince has won this round. I truly thank you for your act of mercy.”

Meng Jue coldly saluted Ke’er Dada, turned and left the arena. The physician rushed forward, tending to his injury. Ke’er Dada’s mouth moved, but nothing came out of it. He jumped off the arena without any sign of elation, moving back to his seat.

Liu Bing Yi looked at Yun Ge, whose face was white as a sheet, still in a daze, then at the expressionless Liu Fu Ling looking in her direction, then sighed and said. “Yun Ge, can you still compete? If you can’t….”

Yun Ge took a deep breath, composing herself, then smiled. “Don’t be ridiculous! Everyone is now counting on me! Without me, how are you going to win?” Liu Bing Yi laughed bitterly, what he thought would be a sure win round turned out to be wrong.

“Yun Ge, don’t force yourself!”

Yun Ge nodded, then floated to the arena with a fluid motion; as she stood on one foot, her hands using the stage for leverage, her body flew gracefully like a magical crane, landing smoothly on stage.

Aliya nodded slightly when she saw the way Yun Ge landed on stage. Her moves were very pretty and graceful, obviously trained under experts, a worthy opponent indeed. But if she only knew the truth was…..

The best martial arts skill that Yun Ge had mastered was that very ‘light body skill[6]’ she just displayed, and of the many ‘light body skill’ moves, her best move was only those used to climb trees and walls. Also, that move she just used, looked very effortless, but actually was chosen by her when she sat on her seat, contemplating the stage, estimating the distance, height, running over all that she learnt from her parents, brothers, friends, and everyone that taught her, finally landing on this move that will best display her charm.

She’d bet if Aliya knew all these, she would probably beg Liu Fu Ling to let her switch opponents, to someone worthy of her, refusing to belittle herself by sparring with Yun Ge. Aliya lightly waved her whip, and the whip in her hands made a loud ‘crack’ sound. “This is my weapon. What about yours?”

Yun Ge scratched her head, deep in thought with her brow furrowed, looking very troubled. Aliya asked with some impatience. “Is my question that hard to answer? Use whatever weapon you use normally.” Yun Ge shot her an apologetic smile. “I know how to wield too many weapons; it is hard to settle on one at such a short notice. Umm…..I’ll use a curved knife!”

Although the curved knife was the most common weapon used by nomadic tribes, it was also one of the hardest to master. Since Yun Ge dared to use a curved knife against her, her skills must be very good. When she understood the underlying meaning of Yun Ge’s words to be that she possessed a broad set of skills too, Aliya knew she had met an expert, immediately going on guard, not daring to make a wrong move. Yun Ge added with a smile, “Han people rarely use curved knives, and I’m afraid it would be hard for them to procure one at such a short notice. Princess, do you have a suitable one to lend me?”

A curved knife hung from Aliya’s hip, when she heard that, she untied the curved knife on her hip and pa.s.sed it to Yun Ge. She told herself to be even more careful of this opponent, for not only is Yun Ge an expert, she is also very meticulous, taking care not to create unnecessary chances for her opponents
........................................................................................................................

Liu Bing Yi felt like fainting. Yun Ge wasn’t luring her opponent to make mistakes, but provoking her so aggressively? He turned to Meng Jue who just came back to his seat after his injury was tended to,

“What is Yun Ge trying to do? Is it not enough that her opponent’s skills are so good, that she must provoke her so?”

Meng Jue lost his usual smile, and answered “I don’t know” with a straight face
........................................................................................................................

Yun Ge played with the curved knife in her hands. “Princess, the previous round was truly terrifying. Princess, you are
gifted with such beautiful features, I’m sure you wouldn’t want a scar to be left on your face by accident. I have just reached my prime too, the love songs I’ve learnt have yet to be heard by the man I like! Whether he accepts me or not, I don’t want to die without first expressing how I feel for him. Let us have a civil fight instead? Not only can we compare our respective skills, we can also ensure that no harm will befall us.”

When he heard the female guests scoffing and laughing scornfully, Liu Bing Yi truly, totally felt like fainting because of Yun Ge.

What was she trying to do? Also, this was the first time he realized that this girl was so good at talking nonsense. If she sang a love song, how could anyone reject her?

Liu Bing Yi smiled bitterly.

Aliya thought of her brother’s earlier fight, stole a glance at Meng Jue’s neck wound, feeling fearful now. Although she was good at using the whip, whips could never cut as deep or as sharp as curved knives could. The curved knife in Yun Ge’s hand was gifted to her by her father on her thirteenth birthday as a coming of age present, and was forged by the best blacksmith of the Arabs. Based on Yun Ge’s moves just now, her ‘light body skills’ must be very good, and because Aliya was always travelling on horseback from a young age, she was very weak when it came to skills making use of her leg strength. If Yun Ge left a mark on her face…… she’d rather die! Furthermore, Yun Ge’s ‘the love songs I’ve learnt have yet to be heard by the man I like’ line really resonated with Aliya. She felt herself getting lost in thought, half feeling bittersweet, and the other half coming to the shocking realization that although she had never sung a love song to the person she liked either, she should at least try it once, regardless of whether or not he accepted it.

If she got injured during this battle, her face disfigured, then all the more she wouldn’t have the courage to sing her love song. For the rest of his life, that person would never know that there was someone else that……

Aliya asked coldly. “How do we go about doing it?”

Yun Ge said happily. “You stand at one end, I stand at the other. You make a move, then I’ll follow with one, exchanging blows with each other that way. Not only can we compare our skills that way, we wouldn’t injure ourselves.”

The moment he heard this, Meng Jue knew Yun Ge had lured the princess in, hook line and sinker. He turned to the still frowning Liu Bing Yi. “If there are no unexpected mistakes, Yun Ge wins.” “With her lousy set of skills, how could she…” Liu Bing Yi suddenly realized. “Yun Ge’s teacher or close friends are experts? So no matter how terrible her skills are, since she had been exposed to them from a young age, plus she is smart, so she had probably committed a lot of those moves to memory. Therefore, as long as she doesn’t have to draw on her internal strength, and isn’t forced to move by her opponent, she could mime those moves out perfectly.”

Meng Jue smiled coldly. “In her family, she’s the only stupid one. Even the maid by her third brother’s side could easily defeat Ke’er Dada.” Liu Bing Yi was stunned. Although he had already guessed that Yun Ge wasn’t of common birth, but this was the first time he knew how extraordinary her family was! He was suddenly very curious as to who her parents are and why she came to Chang An alone.

After mulling it over, Aliya thought this was an interesting proposal, and seemed feasible too. “During the fight, not only do we compare moves, we must also consider speed. No matter how brilliant your moves are, if you react slowly, it will still lead to death.” Yun Ge quickly said. “Princess, what you just said was absolutely reasonable.” Then her brow knit as she thought again. Aliya couldn’t be bothered to wait any longer, saying. “We shall use your Han way of measuring time by . You must make your move within three water droplets, automatically losing if you don’t.” Yun Ge smiled. “Good idea. We shall do it this way then. Which end would your highness choose?”

Aliya froze, I haven’t agreed yet right? We seemed to be only discussing the feasibility of a civil fight, when did this lead to an agreement? Then again, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with this proposal, so she nodded after thinking for a bit, moving to one end of the stage. Yun Ge moved back to the other end of the stage.

Two eunuchs carried the bronze water clock over, placing it at the side of the stage, to measure time. Yun Ge smiled as she asked. “Who goes first? Why don’t we draw lots? Of course, to maintain impartiality, we each nominate one person to make the lots…..” The straightforward, proud Aliya couldn’t stand Yun Ge’s extreme carefulness, as she said impatiently. “This trivial matter won’t determine the winner. I’ll let you go first."

This was exactly what Yun Ge had been waiting for.

If Aliya made the first move, Yun Ge would really have no confidence in herself. Although she could remember a random variety of moves, but she had only witness others making such moves, never actually using them against an opponent, not even sure which moves would counter which; and with only three water droplets of time, this moment of uncertainty would certainly cause her to lose.

But, if she made the first move, everything would be completely different. Aliya thought that it didn’t matter who made the first move, or it should be that Aliya’s line of thought was completely true, but this set of moves had been created by her third brother when he was sparring with Ah Zhu.

[1] gra.s.slands would refer to the nomadic tribes; Central Plains the Han
[2] Taken from the translation posted
[3] See Yun Ge's lousy skills on display - Chapter 16
[4] An idiom meaning a person who was talented but introverted, not wanting to flaunt his talents in front of others.
[5] The actual word was ‘sleepwalking’ but it didn’t fit into the context so I took the liberty to tweak it slightly to convey the meaning it was meant to.
[6]'The skill of light body' is a soft way to strengthen the internal. It is not simple to acquire the skill of "light body". Thanks to the knowledge of the skill even the people whose bodies weigh over 50kg can easily take a rest on the branch of a tree like a b.u.t.terfly or a bee. It is not complicated for them to fly like a swallow but it is not easy and quick way to achieve such a result. Taken from "Authentic Shaolin Heritage: Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin" - Jin Jing Zhong, Andrew Timofeevich . It basically refers to those flying skills displayed by wuxia in those wuxia/fighting dramas too.