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

Forevermore Intoxicated Part 5

Madame Wang let out a quiet sigh. Her tense, taut face immediately loosened, and the tone of her voice became gentle as well. She said, "I do this for your own good. There are too many bad people in the outside world, each of whom kills more than the next. It's best for a young lady like you to not meet with bad people." As she said this, she suddenly thought of something and added, "The new gardener who is surnamed Duan is very glib and very sly. He's not a good person. If he says so much as a single sentence to you, immediately order the servant girls to kill him. Don't allow him to say a second sentence. Understood?" Wang Yuyan thought to herself, "What's this about one sentence or two sentences? We've probably talked for more than one hundred or two hundred sentences!"

Madame Wang said, "What is it? Look at how soft-hearted and gentle you are; the gods only know how much suffering you will have to endure in your life because of it." She clapped twice and Xiaoming entered. Madame Wang said, "Pass the word down. If anyone talks to the gardener surnamed Duan, both of their tongues will be cut out." Xiaoming looked stupefied. Madame Wang's attitude seemed to be that of one who was ordering a chicken or a dog to be slaughtered. She replied, "Yes!" She hurriedly retreated. Madame Wang waved a hand towards her daughter. "You leave as well!"

Wang Yuyan replied, "Yes." As she passed through the doorway, she turned her head and said, "Mother, please show mercy to Ah Zhu and Ah Bi, and just order them to never come here again, under any circumstances." Madame Wang said coldly, "How often do I go back on my word? No matter what you say, I won't change my mind."

Madame Wang clenched her teeth. In a low voice, she said, "I know why you hate auntie and why you dislike my cousin." With a few quiet steps, she hurriedly exited.

Madame Wang said, "Get back!" These words were particularly loud or clear, but were filled with an awe-inspiring dignity. Wang Yuyan returned to the room, head lowered and silent. Madame Wang stared at the quivering lines of blue smoke rising from the incense-burners in the room. In a low voice, she said, "Yan'er, what do you know? No need to lie to me. It's best if you just say everything." Wang Yuyan bit her lower lip. "Auntie blamed you for killing people indiscriminately, to the point where you offended the local government authorities as well as created many vendettas with people of the martial world."

Madame Wang said, "Correct. These are the affairs of the Wang family. What did they have to do with her Murong family? She was nothing more than your father's elder sister. What authority did she have to try and govern me? Hmph, over the past few hundred years, the only thing the Murong family has done is dream about 'restoring the Yan dynasty'. All they can think about is uniting the heroes of the world under their banner. They fawn on people and try to make alliances. Heh heh, and now, they've even offended both the Beggar's Clan and Shaolin."

Wang Yuyan said, "Mother, my cousin definitely did not kill master Xuanbei of Shaolin. He doesn't know how to use..." But just as she was about to say 'the Veda Sceptre technique', she hurriedly paused. As soon as her mother found out where she had heard those words from, it would be almost impossible for Duan Yu to escape death. Instead, she said, "...I'm afraid his martial arts level isn't good enough."

Madame Wang said, "True. Right now, he went to pay a visit to Shaolin. Those blabbermouth servant girls naturally have already told you this. 'Nothern Qiao Feng, Southern Murong.' This saying is really famous and resounding. But can one Murong Fu, plus a Deng Baichun, really get any good results from this trip to Shaolin by themselves? He really doesn't know his own limits!" Wang Yuyan took a few steps forward. In a supplicating voice, she said, "Mother, can you please think of a way to rescue him? Can you send some people to go give him a helping hand? He...he's the last descendant of the Murong lineage. If something bad happens to him, the Murong family line will come to an end and their lineage be extinct." Madame Wang sneered, "Gusu's Murong family. Hmph. What does the Murong family has to do with me? Your auntie claimed that her Murong family's 'Water Pavilion of Bestowal and Repayment' is superior to our 'Jade Cavern Library'. Fine. Then let her precious son, Murong Fu, go to Shaolin and display his power and might." With a wave of her hand, she said, "Leave, leave!" Madame Wang said, "Mother, my cousin..." Madame Wang snapped, "You grow more and more impudent!"

Tears glistened in Wang Yuyan's eyes. Lowering her head, she left. Her mind was running wild and she had no idea what to do. As she walked to a porch in the west wing of the house, she heard someone say in a low voice, "Miss, what's wrong?" Wang Yuyan raised her head. It was Duan Yu. She hurriedly said, "You...don't talk to me!"

After Wang Yuyan had left earlier, Duan Yu had stood there in a daze for a while before slowly following her footstep in a befuddled way. He waited for her from a distance. After seeing her come out from Madame Wang's room, he couldn't prevent himself from following her. Seeing a grieved expression on Wang Yuyan's face, he knew that Madame Wang did not agree to her request. He said, "Even if the madame did not agree, we still need to think of something." Wang Yuyan replied, "If mother doesn't agree, what's the point of coming up with any ideas? She...she...she...my cousin is in a very dangerous situation, but she intends to fold her hands in her sleeves and ignore him." The more she spoke, the more miserable she felt, until she couldn't help but once more begin to shed tears.

Duan Yu replied, "Right, young master Murong really is in a lot of trouble..." He suddenly thought of something and asked, "You know so much about martial arts. Why don't you go yourself and help him out?" Wang Yuyan opened her dark, liquid eyes, and stared at him as though this was the most bizarre idea in the entire world. After a long time, she said, "I...I understand martial arts, but don't practice them. Besides, how could I go? Mother definitely wouldn't allow it." Duan Yu smiled. "Your mother naturally won't let you go, but aren't you able to sneak out by yourself? I once left home by myself once. Afterwards, when I came back home, my mother and father didn't scold me too harshly."

After hearing these words, Wang Yuyan suddenly saw the light. Her eyes brightened, and she thought to herself, "Right! If I sneak out to go help my cousin, even if mother severely punishes me when I return, it's no big deal. Even if she wants to kill me, I'll have already helped my cousin." When she thought about having the chance to undergo trials and tribulations on behalf of her cousin, her heart was filled with both misery and sweetness. Then she thought, "This person said he secretly ran away before. Hm, right, why didn't I ever think of anything like this?" Duan Yu, sneaking glances at her, saw that she seemed to be half-convinced. He immediately exerted all his effort to convince her. He said, "You always stay here, within the Highland Manor of the Camellias. Don't you want to check out the dazzling outside world and see its myriad temptations?"

Wang Yuyan shook her head. "What does it have worth checking? I'm just worried about my cousin. But I've never practiced martial arts. If he really meets up with any problems, I won't be able to help." Duan Yu replied, "Why wouldn't you be of help? You'd be of tremendous help! When your cousin is fighting others, you can give watch and give him a few words of advice from the sidelines. This is known as 'the bystander sees most clearly'. When someone else was playing a game of chess and about to lose, I gave him some advice from the sidelines and he immediately managed a complete comeback. This just happened very recently." Wang Yuyan felt he made a lot of sense, but wasn't able to summon up enough courage. She hesitantly said, "I've never been away from home. I don't even know if Shaolin is to the east or to the west."

Duan Yu immediately jumped at the opportunity. "I'll accompany you. If any problems arise on the road, just let me deal with them." He naturally didn't bring up the point that his own experience in the martial world was brilliantly shallow.

Wang Yuyan furrowed her eyebrows. Inclining her head to one side, she mumbled to herself indecisively. Duan Yu asked, "What's happening with Ah Zhu and Ah Bi?" Wang Yuyan said, "Mother won't let them off." Duan Yu said, "In for a penny, in for a pound! [Lit. 'Either don't act at all, or don't stop once you do!'] If Ah Zhu and Ah Bi have their right hands chopped off, your cousin will definitely blame you. Why don't we go rescue them, then the two of us will immediately set off." Wang Yuyan stuck out her tongue. "How can my mother possibly forgive such an enormous outrage? You really have way too much courage!"

Duan Yu knew very well that right now that nothing could move her mind aside from her cousin. He immediately used the tactic of retreating to seize an advantage. He said, "If that's the case, then let's go immediately and just let your mother chop off Ah Zhu and Ah Bi's hands. In the future, when your cousin asks you about it, you can just deny knowing about it. I definitely won't divulge the secret."

Wang Yuyan hurriedly said, "How can I do that? Isn't that lying to him?" She felt very hesitant. "Alas! Ah Zhu and Ah Bi are his two trusted servants. If anything bad were to happen to them, the grudge between the Murong family and my Wang family will only grow all the more deep." Stamping her left foot, she said, "You, come with me."

Hearing the four words 'You, come with me', Duan Yu was so happy he could have died at that moment with no complaints. In his entire life, he'd never heard four more beautiful words. Seeing that she was walking towards the northwest, he followed her from behind.

In a short amount of time, they arrived outside of a large stone room. Wang Yuyan said, "Granny Yan, please come out. I want to talk to you."

A strange laughter emanated from the stone room. A shriveled, dry voice said, "My dear young miss, have you come to see how granny makes flower fertilizer?"

Earlier, Duan Yu had heard Youcao and Xiaoming say that Ah Zhu and Ah Bi had been taken to the 'Flower Fertilizer Shed'. Then, he hadn't really paid it too much mind. Now, upon hearing this extremely sinister voice say the words, 'flower fertilizer', his heart froze. "What is the 'Flower Fertilizer Shed'? Is it where fertilizer for the flowers is kept? Damn, right, Madame Wang is incomparably ruthless. She buries people alive and uses them as fertilizer for her flowers. If we came too late, Ah Zhu and Ah Bi's right hands will have already been chopped off and turned into fertilizer. What will we do then?" His heart thumped frantically, and all the blood disappeared from his face.

Wang Yuyan said, "Granny Yan, my mother has something to discuss with you. Please come out." The woman in the stone room said, "I'm busy. What pressing business does the madame have, that she sends you to personally come tell me?" Wang Yuyan said, "My mother said...hey, are they here yet?"

As she spoke, she entered the stone room. She saw that Ah Zhu and Ah Bi were bound against two iron pillars. Something was jammed into their mouths, preventing them from saying anything despite their eyes being filled with tears. Duan Yu glanced inside as well. Seeing that Ah Zhu and Ah Bi were not yet harmed, he felt half-relieved. After glancing around the rest of the shed, his heart, which had just barely began to calm down, began to beat wildly again. An old lady with a crooked back who was holding a long, bright, and gleaming sabre in her hands stood next to them. By their side was a boiling cauldron of water that was emitting steady streams of water vapour.

Wang Yuyan said, "Granny Yan, mother orders that they be released for now. There's something important she wants to question them about first."

Granny Yan turned around. Duan Yu saw that she had an extremely ugly face, filled with malice. She nodded. "Fine. After she's done asking questions, escort them back and have their hands chopped off then." She muttered to herself, "The thing which I, Granny Yan, hate seeing the most is pretty girls. These two girls must have a hand chopped off. Only then will they really be good looking. I'll go talk to the madame; we should chop off both their hands. We've been running a bit low on fertilizer." Duan Yu was furious. He thought to himself that this old woman was filled with evil and maliciousness. Who knows how many people she had already killed? If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have the strength to truss up a chicken, he would have given her a few strong blows to her mouth and knock two or three of her teeth out before freeing Ah Zhu and Ah Bi.

Although Granny Yan was getting on in years, her ears remained sharp. She immediately heard the sound of Duan Yu's harsh breathing and asked, "Who is outside?" Sticking her head outside, she saw Duan Yu. She fiercely asked, "Who are you?" Duan Yu laughed, "I'm the person who the madame ordered to be her gardener. Granny Yan, might I ask if you have any fresh fertilizer for me?" Granny Yan replied, "Wait a short while. We'll have some soon." Turning her head, she said, "Miss, your cousin likes these two girls very much, doesn't he?"