DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 1 of 5 (Adventures of The Youth) by Jin Yong

The Jade Cliff Under The Moonlight Part 2

He sat down by the lake and worried in vain, unable to come up with a single idea as to what to do. In desperation, he started to imagine: "What if I can turn into a fish, then I could swim up the waterfall and get out of here." He turned to look at the waterfall more closely, suddenly he noticed that the cliff besides it is smooth like jade. He figured that this is probably due to the fact that a long time ago the flow of water was much more than it is now and wore the cliff to its present smooth state. Then the water flow decreased and exposed this smooth as glass and bright as a mirror part of the cliff.

Suddenly, the conversation between Gan GuangHao and that Sister Xin of his flashed in Duan Yu's mind: "So this must be the 'No Measure Jade Cliff' that they were talking about. They said that back then, when the moon is bright, the head of both East and West Factions often saw images of angels practicing swords on the cliff. This cliff is right besides the cliff, for the image to reflect onto it, they really have to be practicing in the middle of the lake. If I stand here on the east of the lake my image could reflect onto the cliff as well, but the cliff on this side is straight up and blocks out the moonlight, which would make that impossible. Ah! I get it! Must be because there are some waterfowls flying close to the surface of the lake so their images were reflected onto the cliff. From afar, then of course, the movements are incredible, fast, and strange. They have already assumed that it was angels practicing swords, so that is what they thought they saw everytime. Of course, they can't make anything out of the display of 'sword skills' and eventually went down the wrong path and became obsessed."

Once he figured all this out, he couldn't help but laugh a little. It has been 15 to 16 hours since the dinner at Sword Lake Palace and he is getting very hungry. So he walked over to some bushes that had greenish red wild fruits grown all over them. He picked one off and bit down, it tasted just as sour as can be. But as hungry as he was, he didn't care and ate 10 or so in a row. After filling up somewhat, he suddenly felt tired and sore all over his body. So he lied down on the grassy knoll and had a great sleep.

This was one of the best sleeps that he has ever had. By the time he woke up, the sun is already slightly to the west. There was a rainbow in the middle of the lake, just as beautiful as can be. Duan Yu knew that rainbows in this place is common because of the waterfall so he thought to himself: "To be able to see such a scene before I die means that my fortune is not bad. And to think that I would die here among the flowers on the lakeside, not bad elegance there either. Such a beautiful lake, too bad the camelias aren't really of great standards."

After sleeping, his spirits has picked up greatly: "Maybe there is an exit in this place hidden behind the trees and the bushes. I was too much in a hurry last night and might have missed it." So he once again walked alongside the lake in search of an exit, all the while humming favorite tunes of his. He carefully searched everywhere with the greatest care but behind all the bushes and trees were still just faces of the cliff, going straight up into the clouds. He didn't even find a snake hole, not to mention a real exit.

The tunes that he was humming got quieter and quieter while the heart became heavier and heavier. When he got back to where he fell asleep his legs felt weak and he had to sit down. He thought: "Miss Zhong tried to save me, but ended up giving her life away as well."

Now that he is thinking about Zhong Ling, he took out her shoes from his shirt and looked them over. Remembering back to her small and smooth feet as well as her beautiful face, he had to bring the shoes up to his lips and kiss it several times. Putting the shoes back into his shirt, he thought to himself: "Seems like I don't have a chance, and that means neither does Miss Zhong. If she was here and the 2 of us can spend what's left of our lives together here on the shore of this lake, that would be great. Too bad she is with that goat beard SiKong Xuan, no fun there. I wonder if she's thinking about me right now as well?" {I relate to Duan Yu on many levels, as I think what he thinks about here is exactly what I would be thinking as well}