Chapter 4 – An Extraordinary Person, an Extraordinary Place, Extraordinary Things (2/2)
“The same person who forged ‘Tearstains.’”
Little Gao was yet again shocked.
He suddenly had a very odd feeling that there must be some strange and mysterious relationship between him and the black-clothed man.
The feeling left him surprised, happy, and frightened.
But he still wanted to know more, about the solitary box, the sword, this amazing person, and what they had to do with each other. But the black-clothed man didn’t seem willing to allow him to know much more. He had already changed the subject: “Even though there has never been a weapon as remarkable as this solitary box, using it is not very easy. Without a remarkable person to use it, it can’t release the slightest bit of power.”
He was not showing off, and had no air of arrogance in his voice. He was simply describing the facts. “Not only must this person be proficient in the forms of all thirteen weapons, and must completely understand their composition, he also must have extremely dexterous hands to be able to assemble the pieces within the box, in only a moment’s time.” He continued, “In addition to all of this, he must have an abundance of experience, extreme agility and reflexes, and exceedingly good judgment.”
“Why?”
“Because all opponents are different, and the required weapon and weapon forms are also different. In an extremely short period of time, you must make a judgment about which weapon can effectively overcome your opponent. Before your opponent makes a move, you must decide which parts to put together to form which weapon. You must also completely assemble the weapon. If you are slow in even one step, you’ll die by your opponent’s hand.”
Little Gao laughed bitterly. “It really isn’t an easy thing. A person like this… you could search heaven and earth and I’m afraid you’d only find a few.”
The black-clothed man looked at him quietly. A long time passed, then he said, “To open the solitary box also isn’t easy. And yet you opened it very quickly. Your hands are already dexterous enough.”
“It seems they are.”
“Your martial arts already have a good foundation, and it seems like you practice the mystical Indian yoga arts from the peaks of Mount Everest.” (8)
“Yes, it seems so.”
“The old man who passed ‘Tearstains’ down to you has a connection to my solitary box. So up until now, you’re not dead.”
“Don’t tell me you actually want to kill me? Why haven’t you?”
“Because you need to stay here. I want to pass on to you my martial arts, pass on to you the box, pass on to you everything here.”
**
His words were something that others wouldn’t even have the luck to hear even in their dreams.
—Unparalleled wealth, extremely mystical martial arts, and the most fearsome weapon under heaven.
A young person with nothing in the world who suddenly gets everything, whose luck in life changes in an instant.
What would this young person be feeling in their heart?
Little Gao had no reaction, as if someone had mentioned something that had nothing to do with him.
The black-clothed man continued: “My only requirement is that before you master all of my martial arts, you cannot step foot out of this place.”
The requirement wasn’t too harsh, and actually quite reasonable.
“Unfortunately you forgot to ask me something,” said Little Gao. “You forgot to ask if I’m willing to stay here.”
This question really shouldn’t be asked. Only crazy people and fools would refuse a requirement like this.
Little Gao wasn’t crazy, and he wasn’t a fool. The black-clothed man asked him, “Well, are you willing?”
“No, I’m not.” He continued without an explanation: “And I won’t.”
The black-clothed man’s pupils suddenly pulsed, changing into the point of a needle, the tip of a sword, the stinger of a bee, piercing Little Gao’s eyes.
Little Gao’s didn’t blink. A long time passed, and the black-clothed man asked, “Why aren’t you willing?”
“No real reason, actually,” said Little Gao. “Maybe it’s because I’m too bored here, and I’ve always valued a free and comfortable life.” He stared at the mysterious, fearsome man. “Or maybe it’s because I don’t want to become a person like you.”
“Do you know what kind of person I am?”
“I don’t. But I can tell that you are the type of person who lives in the shadows. Whatever face you use when you step outside, it seems you’re always stepping out within the shadows.” He sighed. “Even though you have immeasurable wealth and the most fearsome weapon under heaven, I get the feeling your life isn’t very happy. In fact, I even feel sorry for you.”
The cold light emanating from the man’s eyes slowly began to disperse, disperse into a murky shadow, and then into nothing.
“Everyone has the right to choose their way of life,” continued Little Gao, “including myself. I want to live under the sun. Even if I have to kill people, I’ll openly challenge them to a duel, and win a fair victory.”
The black-clothed man laughed.
“You think Sima Chaoqun will really give you a fair fight?”
“I challenged him openly and fairly. It’s one on one, how could it be unfair?”
“Of course you wouldn’t understand now,” the man sighed. “I’m afraid by the time you do understand, it will be too late.”
“No matter what, I have to go. Right now, I’m about to die from starvation. I just hope you’ll let me stay to have a meal, then let me go.” He seemed happy again. “I can tell you’re not a stingy person, and my requirements aren’t very high.”
“Definitely not too high,” the man said coldly. “But sadly, you forgot to ask me something.”
“What’s that?”
“No one who has every visited this place has ever left alive.”
Little Gao suddenly laughed. “I believe you. But luckily there’s an exception to everything.” He laughed happily. “I believe you’ll definitely make an exception for me.”
“Why will I make an exception for you?”
“Because we’re friends, not enemies. And I’ve never offended you.”
“You’re mistaken,” said the man. “You’re not my friend. You don’t qualify to be my friend.”
His eyes suddenly shone forth with a strange light. “If I make an exception for you, it will only be for one reason.”
“What reason?”
“Because you feel sorry for me.”
The expression in his eyes suddenly changed into one of bitter and anguished cynicism. “This world only contains people who hate me or fear me. There’s never been a single person who felt sorry for me. For this single reason, I think there’s no harm in giving you a chance.”
“A chance? What chance?”
The black-clothed man stood up, and casually grabbed two crystal bottles from the long table. Then he asked Little Gao to pick one of them.
“Why do you want me to pick?” asked Little Gao. “They both look the same. All the bottles look the same.”
“There’s one small difference.”
“What difference?”
“One bottle has poison in it. Deadly, gut-wrenching poison.”
**
Actually the two bottles had another difference about them. One of the bottles had a little less wine than the other.
Because the black-clothed man had already poured some of the wine into a glass and drank it.
He still lived.
Little Gao saw this, but he still chose the other bottle.
The black-clothed man looked at him coldly and asked, “You’ve decided?”
“I’ve decided. And I won’t change my mind.”
“Didn’t you see me drink the glass of wine just now?”
“I saw.”
“And don’t you know which bottle I drank from?”
“I know.”
“Then why wouldn’t you pick that bottle?”
“Because I don’t want to die.” Little Gao laughed, even more cheerfully. “You know I’m not blind, and not stupid. I can obviously see which bottle you drank from. But you want me to make a decision, because most people in this situation would choose to drink from the first bottle.”
That was a fact.
“Luckily I’m not most people, and you wouldn’t lump me in with most people. If that bottle really had no poison in it, you wouldn’t use that method to test me. If you wanted to overcome me, you would definitely use a more challenging method.”
It was definitely not an easy decision.
Even many very intelligent people might come to the conclusion that the poison was in the bottle the black-clothed man drank from, but might not have the guts to drink from the other.
“The poison is yours, of course you have the antidote. Even if you drank eight or ten bottles it wouldn’t be a problem. Of course, I can’t drink a drop, so I have to pick the other bottle.”
The black-clothed man looked at Little Gao with a very strange expression. “And if you choose incorrectly?”
“Then I guess I’ll die, and that’s that.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he took the bottle and drank a mouthful.
And then he collapsed.
**
(1) I’m substituting lychee for long’an. Both fruits are similar in size and shape, but I’m pretty sure long’an is not as commonly known among western audiences.
(2) I’m not sure if it comes across in my translation, but the “change” in his body he’s referring to is …. Uh yeah, you can guess….
(3) Okay, my translation differs from the original Chinese, because I think the original can’t be translated well into English directly. The original says, “his body suddenly twisted, from a position that no person could imagine, twisting in a direction that no person could imagine.”
(4) Mount Ba is a mountain in Sichuan.
(5) Mount Huangshan is one of the most famous mountains in China.
(6) Here are links to pictures of some of the weapons. I did my best to translate everything correctly, and tried to find ‘official’ or existing translations of as many of the weapons as possible. If I made any mistakes, please let me know. I’m especially not sure of my translation of Tiger cross blade, which I’ve seen before in movies and stuff but am not sure how to translate into English.
Flower-shaped broadaxe
Judges’ brushes
Emei spikes
Tiger cross blade
Polearm
(7) He actually uses like four or five adjectives in Chinese that all basically mean the same thing. Precise, delicate, complicated, etc.
(8) The word he uses to describe Mount Everest is actually “Holy Mother of the Water,” which apparently is what they call Mount Everest in Tibetan.