Horizon, Bright Moon, Sabre
Copyright© 2022 by Gu Long
Chapter 6: Before the Duel
[originally translated by Chowbeng and edited by RWX]
Fu Hongxue
About 36-37 years old.
Characterised by his maimed right foot and the sabre that never left his hand.
His martial arts don’t seem to be from a particular school or teacher. His self learned sabre is extremely quick and widely acknowledged as the martial world’s number one sabre.
His family background is unclear. He was said to be adopted from birth by the Devil Sect’s Princess Bai Feng, and thus well he is acquainted in all kinds of killing arts using poison. He had never married, and roamed the world without a home.
His character is eccentric and callous, operating alone and associating with no one else.
Du Lei slowly pushed the paper with these data to the Thumb without any expressions.
Thumb asked, “Have you read these?”
Du Lei, “Hmm...”
Thumb sighed, “I know that you would not be satisfied, but that’s all the data we could dig out. And that’s as much as anyone know about Fu Hongxue.”
Du Lei, “Very good.”
Thumb blinked and lightly probed, “Are these of any help to you?”
Du Lei, “Not at all”
Thumb, “Not even one bit?”
Du Lei slowly nodded. He stood up, opened up a step and quickly sat down again. He said coldly, “Your data left out two things, the two most important points.”
Thumb, “Oh...”
Du Lei, “He was cheated by a woman before, very badly cheated.”
Thumb, “Who was this woman?”
Du Lei, “A whore called, Cui Nong”
Thumb sighed again, “I had always wondered why intelligent men are so easily cheated by whores.”
Peacock suddenly butted in and sneered, “That’s because intelligent men would only like intelligent women and clever women are mostly whores.”
Thumb shook his head and laughed, “I knew you hate women but would never guess that you hated them that much.”
Du Lei sneered, “Looks like he was also cheated by a woman.”
Peacock’s face changed colour, unexpectedly smiled and changed the topic, “What’s the second point?”
Du Lei, “He has a sickness”
Thumb, “What sickness?”
Du Lei, “Epilepsy.”
Thumb’s eyes shone, “When his sickness acts up, he would foam in the mouth and roll on the ground?”
Du Lei, “Epilepsy has only one kind of effect.”
Thumb wondered, “How could an insane cripple like him mastered the unparalleled sabre under the heavens.”
Du Lei, “He has worked hard. It was said that he practiced his sabre at least eight hours everyday, starting from the age four to five, drawing his sabre at least 12000 times a day.”
Thumb laughed bitterly, “I can’t believe that you know more about him than us.”
Du Lei softly said, “I know that much about each and every person in the Hall of Fame, because I had spent five whole months collecting their info and another five months researching their skills.”
Thumb, “I am sure you had spent more time on Fu Hongxue than anyone else.”
Du Lei acknowledged that.
Thumb, “So what’s the result of your research?”
Du Lei, “His sabre had never left his hands, for at least the last twenty years that sabre is all he ever used. By now, that sabre had practically become part of his body. He used that sabre, better and more easily than others used their own finger.”
Thumb, “From what I know, that sabre isn’t really a good quality sabre.”
Du Lei, “A sabre that can kill is a good sabre!”
For Fu Hongxue, that sabre is no longer just a sabre. The man and sabre had developed a link that others would not be able understand. Although Du Lei did not say that aloud, but Thumb had understood what he had meant.
Peacock was pondering all this time, and suddenly said, “If we can take away his sabre...”
Du Lei, “Nobody can take away his sabre.”
Peacock smiled, “There are always exceptions to every matter.”
Du Lei, “There will be no exceptions in this case.”
Peacock did not argue further but instead asked, “Usually, when would his sickness act up?”
Du Lei, “His sickness surfaces when he is suffering from extreme anger or sorrow.”
Peacock, “If you can strike when he is sick...”
Du Lei’s face darkened and coldly said, “What kind of person do you think I am?”
Peacock smiled again, “I also know you are not willing to do such things, but we could easily have others to do that. If we could get someone to anger him first, then...”
Du lei suddenly shot up, and coldly declared, “I only hope you understand one thing.”
Peacock is listening, and so is the Thumb!
Du Lei, “This duel is between he and I alone, no matter who wins or loses, it has nothing do with anyone else.”
Thumb suddenly injected, “Nothing to do with Gongzi as well?”
Du Lei’s hand on the scabbard tightened suddenly.
Thumb, “If you haven’t have forgotten Gongzi, then you should at least do one thing.”
Du Lei could not help but to ask, “What is that?”
Thumb, “Let him wait, let him wait longer, till he is anxious and bothered before you go.”
He smiled and continued, “This battle you win or lose, live or die, we don’t really care. But we are also not keen to collect your body.”
...
Noon, the abandoned Ni Family Garden.
The sun’s rays are shinning on the hexagonal pavilion. Outside the pavilion, there is one man, one sabre!
A pitch black sabre!
Fu Hongxue slowly walked across the weeds-invaded alley, his hand clenching the sabre tightly.
Although the red paint on the railings were already peeling off, the pavilion was still standing proud in the mist of the greenery. Under the sun’s rays, it looked every bit of its former glory.
This place certainly used to be splendid, but why had it fallen to such a desolate state?
A pair of swallows flew in and settled on the poplar tree outside the hexagonal pavilion, as though they were searching too for its former glory.
It’s a pity that while the poplar tree was still the same, the local scenery was all gone.
The swallows had flew back and fro, how many times had they came and how many times had they left?
The poplar never asked.
The poplar had no words!
The poplar had no feelings.
Fu Hongxue suddenly felt a stinging pain in his heart.
He had long mastered the polar’s silence, but when could he ever mastered the polar’s ruthlessness!
Fu Hongxue stood there foolishly, as if forgetting where he was and where he’s from.
He did not think further, because he suddenly heard somebody’s laughter.
Laughter, clear and sweet like a golden oriole.
The sun had set and the grass had grown tall but there was no sign of the oriole.
The sounds of the golden oriole was in the tall grass.
From the tall grass, a girl suddenly stood up, looking at Fu Hongxue and laughing in a silly way.
Her laughter was beautiful, but more so was her person, her long raven hair as soft as silk.
She didn’t comb her hair and let her silky soft black hair fell free on her shoulders.
She didn’t wear any make-up either, just a long gown that fitted easily on her. It is neither silk or satin, but it lustred like her hair.
Fu Hongxue did not ask.
“I was laughing at you.” She laughed even more sweetly. “You stood there, looking like a fool.”
Fu Hongxue was silent.
“You wouldn’t even ask who I am?”
“Who are you?”
Fu Hongxue had asked, as he had originally intended to!
Who could have known that the moment he opened his mouth, that long-haired girl leaped up with a yell.
“I was waiting for you to ask just that.” She leaped up with the ominousness of a provoked kitten. “Do you know who owns the land you are standing on? Who are you to swagger around like a lord?”
Fu Hongxue coolly watched her and waited for her to continued.
“This place belongs to the Ni family.” Her finger pointing at her own nose, “I am 2nd Miss Ni, “I could chase you out any time I pleased.”
Fu Hongxue could only keep his mouth shut.
One hadn’t much to say when one was caught trespassing by the owner herself.
2nd Miss Ni stared at him maliciously with her pair of large eyes. She smile again, still as sweetly as before.
“However, I certainly would not chase you out, because...” She winked, “Because I like you.”
Fu Hongxue could only listen.
You can choose not to fancy someone, but you can’t prevent others from fancying you.
But just as suddenly, this 2nd Miss Ni changed her mind, “I was actually lying when I said I like you.” Sighing, “I didn’t chased you out, because I know I am not your match.”
Fu Hongxue could not help but to ask, “So, you know me?”
“Of course!”
“What do you know?”
“I not only know about your martial arts, but your surname and name as well.”
With her hands behind her back, she swaggered out of the long grass. Slanting her eyes, she sized up Fu Hongxue from top to bottom.
“Others all said that you are a freak, but I don’t find you strange in any way. In fact, you are rather good looking.”
Fu Hongxue slowly turned and walked towards the hexagonal pavilion, “You are the only one left in this place?”
“So what if I am alone?” She rolled her eyeballs, “Don’t tell me you still dare to bully me?”
“Usually, you don’t stay here?”
“Why would I stay in such an ghastly place by myself?”
Fu Hongxue suddenly turned and stared at her, “Why are you still here now?”
2nd Miss Ni exclaimed,”This is my home, I can come and go as I like. Why should I be under the orders of others?”
Fu Hongxue could only shut up yet again.
2nd Miss Ni stared at him intensely in a fierce looking manner. She then smiled again, “Actually, I shouldn’t have quarreled with you. If we start fighting now, how could we manage in the future?”
Future?
Do you know that there are some people without a future?
Fu Hongxue slowly stepped on to the stone dike and stared into an unseen distant location. Despite the sun’s rays, his face is still frightfully pale.
He only wished that Du Lei would be here soon.
She however still latched on to him, “I know you are Fu Hongxue, so you should at least ask for my name.”
He did not ask, so she could only continued herself, “My name is Ni Hui, meaning ‘wise’.” Without warning, she leaped up the railings, facing Fu Hongxue, “My father give me this name, because I have been intelligent since childhood.”
Fu Hongxue ignored her.
“You don’t believe me?” With her hands on her waist, her forehead nearly touching his nose, she said, “I not only know why you are here but also what type of people you are waiting for.”
“Hmm...”
“You are certainly here for a life and death duel, I can tell from one look.”
“Hmm...”
“You have a murderous aura.”
What did this small slip of a girl know about murderous auras?
“I also know that the person you are waiting for is certainly Du Lei”, Ni Hui said confidently. “Because within a few hundred li of this area, the only one who can match up with Fu Hongxue is Du Lei.”
This girl indeed knew quite a bit.
Fu Hongxue looked her two lively eyes and coldly said,” Since you know, you should leave quickly.”
Although his voice was cold, the emotion in his eyes wasn’t quite as cold. In fact, the outline of his eyes showed some hint of tenderness.
Ni Hui smiled again, gently, “Are you starting to care for me?”
Fu Hongxue immediately lowered his face. “The reason I want you to go is that I don’t kill for others to watch.”
Ni Hui curled her lips, “Even if you want me gone, there is no real hurry. Du Lei wouldn’t be here that soon.”
Fu Hongxue lifed his head, the sun was already in the middle of the sky.
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