DEMI GODS AND SEMI DEVILS Book 2 of 5 (Shrouding Screen In Suzhou) by Jin Yong

Forevermore Intoxicated Part 4

As soon as he saw the young lady, he felt a buzzing sound in his ears. He felt as though his vision was becoming blurry, and his legs went weak. He couldn't help but sink to his knees. If he didn't exert all of his energy to keep himself straight, he would have kowtowed to her. Finally, he managed to cry out, "Dear goddess! I...I have been so miserable, dreaming about you! Master, your disciple, Duan Yu, pays respects to you!

The girl in front of him looked totally identical to the jade statue of the jade cavern. There were no differences whatsoever. Although Madame Wang looked very similar to the jade statue, she was obviously older, and was not as beautiful. But the girl in front of him, aside from her choice of clothes, looked exactly the same as the statue. Face, eyes, nose, lips, ears, skin color, body figure, hands, feet; there was not a single difference. It was as though the jade statue had come to life. In his dreams, he had longed for the jade statue a thousand or ten thousand times. Now, seeing her before his own very eyes, he really did not know where he was. Was he on earth, or was he in heaven?

The young maiden thought he was a lunatic. Letting out a soft cry, she retreated two steps. Shocked, she said, "You...you..."

Duan Yu rose to his feet. His eyes remained locked on the young maiden, and now he saw her even more clearly than before. Only now did he realize that there were still some differences between the girl in front of him and the jade statue. The jade statue was gorgeous, seductive, and arousing; it had the power to entrance one's senses and steal one's soul. The maiden in front of him, on the other hand, was dignified and sedate, with a hint of childishness. In terms of appearances, the jade statue actually appeared to be more animate and alive than the girl in front of him. He said, "Ever since that day in the jade cavern, when I kowtowed to your celestial statue, dear goddess, I felt that I was the luckiest of men. I never would have imagined that today, I would be able to see your appearance with mine own eyes. Goddesses really do exist on earth. The world isn't an empty place at all!"

The maiden said to Xiaoming, "What is he talking about? He...who is he?" Xiaoming said, "He's that bookworm which Ah Zhu and Ah Bi brought. He claimed to know how to plant camellias. The madame actually believed his rubbish." The maiden said to Duan Yu, "Bookworm, did you overhear the conversation I had with her just then?"

Duan Yu laughed, "Your humble servant has the surname of Duan, with the given name of Yu. I am a citizen of Dali, not a bookworm. Dear goddess, I accidentally overheard the conversation between you and sister Xiaoming. But neither of you need to worry; your humble servant won't leak a single word of your conversation. I guarantee that I will not cause sister Xiaoming to be blamed by Madame Wang."

The maiden's face sank. "Who are you calling your 'dear goddess'? You refuse to admit you are a bookworm? When did you ever meet me?" Duan Yu replied, "If I'm not to call you 'dear goddess', how should I address you?" The maiden said, "My family name is Wang. You can just call me Miss Wang."

Duan Yu shook his head. "No way. There's hundreds of millions of Miss Wang's in the world. Miss, how could I address a celestial personage such as yourself simply as 'Miss Wang'? But how am I to address you then? This is a really tough problem. How about Celestial Maiden Wang? That seems too vulgar. Princess of the Camellias? But the Great Song, Dali, Liao, Tibet, and the Western Xia all have many princesses. Which one can compare to you?"

The maiden felt as though his words were filled with poetic diction. She all the more felt he was a total bookworm. Nonetheless, seeing him so enraptured by her and hearing him pour forth so many praises of her beauty, she couldn't help but be a little delighted. Smiling she said, "Your luck is not bad at all. My mom didn't chop your legs off."

Duan Yu said, "The madame's looks are comparable to yours, dear goddess. Only, her temperament is a bit too weird, and she randomly wants to kill people. It's really a bit at odds with her goddess-like appearance."

The maiden knitted her eyebrows slightly. "Hurry up and go plant camellias. Don't just stand here and jibber jabber. The two of us have important things to talk about." Her attitude indicated that she thought of him simply as a common gardener.

Duan Yu didn't think about disobeying. He just wanted to exchange a few more words with her and cast a few more glances towards her. He thought to himself, "The only way I can lure her into being whole-heartedly willing to chat with me is by discussing young master Murong. Aside from this, she won't care about anything else." He said, "Shaolin is the Mt. Taishan and the Big Dipper of the martial community [meaning, holds an utmost position of height and power]. Within the monastery itself, if there aren't a thousand eminent monks and expert fighters, there are at least eight hundred. Many of them have practiced the 72 Ultimate Techniques. Recently, Master Xuanbei was violently murdered in Dali's Luliang prefecture, within the Shenjie Monastery. The many monks there were firm in their assertion that it was Gusu's Murong family which did the deed. For young master Murong to enter such an extremely risky situation by himself is very unwise.

That maiden's body actually trembled. Duan Yu didn't dare look directly at her face. He thought to himself, "She cares so much about that little brat, Murong Fu. If I see her expression, I might be so pissed that I would start crying." He watched the lower hem of her pale, pinkish grey dress gently tremble. He heard her insurpassably gentle voice say, "Why do the monks of Shaolin falsely accuse Gusu's Murong family? Do you know? You...hurry and tell me."

Hearing her beg him in such a trembling voice, Duan Yu's heart softened, and he wanted to immediately tell her everything. But then, he reconsidered. "Actually, my knowledge in this matter is limited. All I really know is that master Xuanbei was killed by a blow from the 'Great Veda Sceptre' technique, and that everyone agreed that only the Murong family 'uses the opponent's skills, exercising them upon the opponent.' I would finish explaining all of that in a few sentences. After I'm done explaining, she'll shoo me off to go plant camellias again, by which point it will be very difficult to come up with any other topics of conversation. I need to make a mountain out of a molehill and spend a long time talking about a simple matter. I'll just tell her a little bit each day, but also talk about all sorts of random matters and ramble on and off. I'll stretch the conversation out as long as I can, so as to get her to come talk to me every day. If she can't find me, her heart will itch and she'll be discomfited."

Duan Yu coughed and said, "I myself do not know martial arts. I don't even know the most basic of techniques, such as 'Golden Pheasant Stands Alone', or 'Black Tiger Stealing the Heart'. But I know a family friend by the surname of Zhu, whose full name is Zhu Danchen. His nickname is 'Student of Calligraphy'. He might look like a weak and scholarly bookworm like me, but he really is very good at martial arts. One day, I saw him fold his fan, invert it, then with a puffing sound, point the fan towards the shoulder of this big muscular fellow. That fellow immediately curled up into a ball, as though he had turned into a puddle of mud, totally unable to move."

The maiden said, "Right, this is the 'Cool and Refreshing Fan' technique's acupoint sealing skill. It is the thirty eighth technique, the 'Bone-Piercing Fan' technique. Invert the fan, then diagonally attack the shoulder acupoint. This Mr. Zhu belongs to a branch of the Mt. Kunlun school of martial arts, and is a disciple of the Three Reasons Temple. Practitioners of this school of martial arts are even more formidable when using judge pens as opposed to fans. Let's get back to the main topic. There's no need to discuss martial arts with me."

If Zhu Danchen himself had been here and heard these words, he would have admired this girl from the depths of his heart. Not only had the maiden properly identified the technique he had used, she even managed to discern the origins of his martial arts and clearly explain where he had studied it. If another famous martial arts expert, such as Duan Yu's uncle, Duan Zhengming, or his father, Duan Zhengchun, they would have been astonished as well and wondered, "How is it that such a young girl has such a broad, deep, and incisive understanding of martial arts?" But Duan Yu did not know martial arts at all, so when the girl casually made those comments, he just casually listened, without even knowing if her words were correct or not. He stared at her thin eyebrows as they rose and her red lips as they moved. Whether or not her words were correct, he did not care one bit.

The maiden asked, "So what about Mr. Zhu?" Duan Yu pointed at a bluestone bench near the bamboo plants and said, "This story will take some time in the telling. Miss, why don't you move over there and take a seat? Then, I'll slowly report the events to you." The maiden said, "You ramble on and on. Why can't you just speak casually and quickly? I don't have the energy to listen to you." Duan Yu replied, "Miss, if you don't have the time today, you can come find me tomorrow. If you don't have free time tomorrow, it'll be fine if we wait a few more days. As long as the madame does not chop off my tongue, all you need to do is ask and I will tell you what you want to know."

The maiden lightly stomped her foot on the ground, then turned around and ignored him. She asked Xiaoming, "What else did the madame say?" Xiaoming replied, "The madame said, 'Hmph, the problems are becoming bigger and bigger. He's become foes with the Beggar's Clan and enemies with Shaolin. I'm afraid that Gusu's Murong family will die...die without even a place to be buried." The maiden hurriedly said, "Mother clearly knows that my cousin is in a dangerous, critical situation. Why doesn't she care?" Xiaoming said, "Right. Miss, I'm afraid that the madame will go looking for me. I need to leave! No matter what, please don't tell the madame what I told you. I want to be alive to serve you for a few more years." The maiden said, "Put your heart at ease. Why would I harm you?" Xiaoming paid her respects and left. Seeing a look of dread and fear on her face, Duan Yu thought to himself, "To Madame Wang, killing people is as big a deal as cutting the grass. She really does make others swoon with fear."

The maiden slowly walked to the bluestone bench, then lightly and elegantly sat down, but did not ask Duan Yu to sit as well. Duan Yu naturally did not dare to rashly sit next to her. One of the white camellias was situated very close to her, only two branch-lengths away. A beautiful woman and a famous flower; the two brought out the best of each other's beauty. Duan Yu sighed, "'The beautiful flower collapses the country, but both are beautiful.' Inferior, far inferior. In the past, the poet Li Bai used peony flowers as a metaphor for the beauty of Precious Consort Yang [Yang Guifei]. If he had the fortune to see you, miss, he would realize that although the flower is very beautiful, it is not tender when angry, does not have a soft voice, has no joyful laughter, and is without worries and cares. The flowers are far inferior!"

The maiden quietly said, "You keep on telling me that I am beautiful, but I don't know if it's true or not." Duan Yu was totally astonished. "Only those who have no eyes cannot see beauty when beauty is placed before them. If this is the case for men, how much more must it be for you? I imagine that you have been called beautiful too many times in your life, and are bored of hearing it."

The maiden slowly shook her head, revealing a look of loneliness. She said, "No one has ever told me whether or not I am beautiful. Within the Highland Manor of the Camellias, aside from my mother and myself, everyone here is a servant. They only know me as the young missus. Why would they care if I am beautiful or ugly?" Duan Yu said, "What about outsiders?" The maiden said, "What outsiders?" Duan Yu said, "When you go outside and others see your goddess-like beauty, surely they are startled and gasp in admiration, then prostrate themselves in reverence?" The maiden said, "I never go outside. Why would I go outside? Mother doesn't allow me to, anyhow. When I go to my aunt's house to read at the 'Water Pavilion of Bestowal and Repayment', I don't meet any outsiders there either. Although, some of his friends, like big brother Deng, second brother Gongye, third brother Bao, or fourth brother Feng, they...they aren't dull-witted fellows like you." As she spoke, a small smile appeared.

Duan Yu said, "Can it be that young master Murong...that he too has never told you how beautiful you are?"

The maiden slowly lowered her head. An indescribably soft, almost inaudible sound could be heard, followed by a few more. A few teardrops fell onto the grass, crystal clear and sparkling, appearing as though they were the early morning dew. Duan Yu no longer dared to ask any more questions, nor did he dare to say any comforting words.

After a long time, the maiden let out a quiet sigh. "He...he's a very busy person. Every day of every year, from dawn til dusk, he is always busy, without a single moment of free time. When we are together, either we are discussing martial arts or important affairs of state. I...I hate martial arts."

Duan Yu slapped his thigh and declared, "Not bad, not bad! I hate martial arts as well. My uncle and my father both told me to learn martial arts, but I refused to learn no matter what, and chose to sneak away from home instead."

The maiden let out a long sigh. "In order to be able to often meet with him, despite hating martial arts, I forced myself to not only read boxing treatises and sabre manuals, but also to memorize them, so that if there was something he did not understand, I could explain it to him. But I myself do not learn them. It isn't very refined for girls to brandish sabres and wave cudgels about..." Duan Yu agreed from the bottom of his heart. "Right, right! How could a girl like you, a peerless beauty, get into physical battles with others? That'd really be totally inappropriate. Ack!..." He suddenly realized that these words he said were offensive to his own mother. The maiden didn't really pay much attention to what he said and continued, "All of the political leaders of every dynasty have always been engaged in power struggles. Today, I try to kill you; tomorrow, you try to kill me. I really don't want to know about those things. But he loves talking about those matters, so I have no choice but to read those types of books to be able to tell him about these things."

Duan Yu asked curiously, "Why is it that you have to read books and then explain them to him? Can't he read them himself?" The maiden glanced at him. "What, you think he's an idiot? That he doesn't know how to read?" Duan Yu hastily said, "No, no! He's the best person in the whole wide world, alright?" Although Duan Yu said these words, in his heart he felt sour.