Hello everyone! Firstly, I like to thank Decembi for hosting me. I must be a bit loony to start a translation project but what is youth *cough!* without doing a few crazy things right? HK – this is also dedicated to you for your faith in me, although I am not sure if you will ever get online and read this.
Recently, Decembi
posted this thread “Gentleman
Free-Floating Cloud by Yu Qing” (闲云公子) at SSB. The post brought back fond memories as I remember the female
lead Huang Fu Yu very clearly. She
is an exceptionally calm girl – probably due to the grooming/torture under her
crazy Sect Leader – and she has a way of avoiding trouble until she has no
choice but to face it straight on. It is a lighthearted wuxia story and I hope you
would enjoy reading the tale as much as I am having fun translating it. The book is short at about 10-12 chapters and I
think I should be able to manage a chapter or two each week so hopefully you
don't have to wait
too long between chapters. Do pardon
my occasional grammatical errors and let's get started with the story.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Prologue – The First Person
She lifted a silk
curtain and walked into a dimly lit hall.
Really, it is
such a waste to have poor lighting for such good hall. Upon the advice of some expert, the
candles have been strategically arranged to bask the Sect Leader in an eerie
glow when the candlelight is cast on his seat.
“Look Yun-er, what new toy have I got for you!” Sect Leader smiled as he waved a hand at her.
“Look Yun-er, what new toy have I got for you!” Sect Leader smiled as he waved a hand at her.
She walked slowly
to his chair and let him held up her little hand. “What interesting toy have Master
got for Yun-er?” she replied calmly, with nary a flicker in her eyes.
“You are so young
but always act old” Sect Leader smiled.
No, it was not
her intention to act older than her age.
Her dream was in fact, to be able to act her age. According to her research, a normal
girl of her age should be learning embroidery or something like that, and not
engage in a mental battle with Sect Leader day after day.
When she was
standing in front of the mirror yesterday, she spotted a strand of silver on
her head. After thinking about it,
she concluded that the silver hair was not a natural occurrence, so it must
have been a result of overexertion.
“Look, that is
the good stuff I brought back for you.” Sect Leader looked expectantly at her,
eager to catch her every reaction.
At the bottom of
the marble steps was a young man in white. He was kneeling and looked rather unkempt. Actually, she has noticed him the
moment she walked into the hall.
She only pretended not to see him as her Way for Life-Preservation.
“Master, who is
he?”
“An orthodox
pugilist who has overestimated his powers when he sneaked into Bai Ming Sect to
assassinate me. He should have
died, but I’m a generous man and decided to keep him as a Sky Slave. Yun-er, I recall that you do not have a
Sky Slave yet?
“Yun-er is still
young and has no use for a Sky Slave at the moment.”
Sect Leader gave
a mysterious laugh: “Yun-er has lost your family since young and lack guidance. However, you will come to this bridge
sooner or later. Since this young
man is quite good looking with a good bone set, you can take him and use him.”
Take him and use
him
… from what she
know, she is 10 years old this year.
There are many things she need not use and there is no need to force this
on her.
“Men! Bring the
bangles!”
A long box was
brought to him. Resting on the red
silk lining was a pair of shiny golden bangles. The bangles are engraved with a snake emblem and attached
with a bell. When worn, the bells
will tinkle as the wearer moves.
Although it was a pleasant sound when she heard it along the corridors,
this moment has taken a rather dangerous turn for her. She has no choice but to take out the
bangle from the box and smiled “Thank you Master for the bangles.”
“These bangles
are engraved with the snake emblem which is worthy of the Huang Fu name. There is only one such pair in the
sect, so you can wear it for him now.”
Like a thorn among cotton, a knife hiding behind a smile, Sect Leader
was unable to hide his undisguised glee.
“Yes Master.” She
also gave a co-operative smile.
She walked slowly
to the steps and looked at the kneeling youth in white. Although there were some blood stains
on his clothes, it could not disguise his distinguished air. He should be a promising young master
from the orthodox sect who had hoped to acquire fame by boldly sneaking into
Bai Ming Sect. And meet with a bad end.
She titled her chin
and looked at him. He was bound
and the deep cuts along the wrists indicate that he has been struggling for a
long time. Which means the ropes holding him would likely break soon. Although someone has hit his
acupuncture points to render him immobile, it was highly possible he still
retain control over his legs. If
he managed to strike out her with even thirty percent of his strength, the
force would be enough to kill, if not seriously maim a small girl like her.
She looked at his
murderous eyes – it was obvious he can’t wait to eat her alive, or break her
like a twig. How could a small girl
survive his attack?
Once a Sky Bangle
is put on, it can never be removed.
Even if he managed to escape back to the Central Plains in future, he
will be mocked and scorned. It is
no wonder this proud youth would rather die than become her Sky Slave.
She can clearly
see his antagonism; his strength against her weakness. Behind her, she can also feel Sect
Leader’s anticipation. With a
tiger in front and a wolf behind, here she is, stuck in the middle trying to
live. She, who is just a young
girl….
She sat on the
steps and asked “What is your name?”
The young man
glared at her and said nothing.
She toyed with the snake bangle in her hands and pretended that she did
not see his murderous intent. She
continued: “My name is Huang Fu Yun and I will be your Master from today
onwards.” With a click, she has
snapped a bangle on her own wrist.
The youth gave a
start. The bangle is part of a
pair and should be fastened on his ankles, forever branding him to a life of
shame. Why did she….
She waved her hand
and the tinkling sound of the bell rang crisply across the hall. “This snake bangle is so pretty, how
could I let you have all of it? I
will take one, you shall take the other, and that will be fair. From henceforth, your Master will only
be me. If someone else calls you,
you need not answer.” She finally
moved and snapped the other snake bangle over his left ankle.
He did not move
and continued to stare at her. She
went back to the Sect Master and said: “Thank you Master for giving me a Sky
Slave. Yun-er will bade her leave
now.” She walked a few steps before turning around. “Aren’t you going to follow me.” With
that, she walked out of the hall without a backward glance.
The youth got up
and chased after her small frame.
Her pace was slow as a snail and with her hands folded behind her, she reminded
him of an old woman. Why was there
such a dumb lass in the unorthodox sect who would fasten a Sky Slave bangle on
her own wrist?
When he paid more
attention, he could hear muttering as her head swayed back and forth. “….. so
ask the sage: if the world scorn me, humiliate me, laugh at me, treat me like
nothing, treat me like dirt, lie to me, how to handle thus? So speaks the sage: just one word
“endure”. Let him be, go along with
him, avoid him, be patient with him, ignore him, in another few years you will
no longer see him…. I shall endure, endure, endure… endure some more…”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I'm already hooked!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
ReplyDelete*fangirl squeal*
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I’d like to thank Moonblossom for all your translations on Lost You Forever at SSB. LYF has got me hooked like a drug addict, and your spoilers have quenched my withdrawal symptoms :P You’re a savior to the all die-hard fans like myself. I’m so excited to hear that you will be translating this story as well!
On the subject of 闲云公子:
The Sect Leader seems like such an interesting character ( Although his remarks at Yun’er and the sky slave were kinda creepy… ) I grew up watching old wuxia shows, and the unorthodox sects have always intrigued me more, as opposed to the self-righteous figures (who often turn out to be hypocritical jerks). It’s interesting that we will be having a main character who is from the ‘evil’ side.
Anyway, thank you again. I’m eager to read your further translations :D
Thank you for the encouragement! Right now, I'm feeling about as loony as the Sect Leader himself. What have I gotten myself into? Although he doesn't appear much, his existence and schemings basically shaped the whole novel. And the scary part is, he must not really be crazy if all this scheming works. I can only say poor Yun-er...
DeleteWelcome Moonblossom!!!!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed your translations of LYF. So thank you for picking up this project. The sect leader should not be easy to handle by her muttering and white wires at that age > _ < The sky slave is how much older than she?
Thank you too. He Zai should be 4-6 years older than Huang Fu Yun.
DeleteHello Moonblossom,
ReplyDeleteSo happy to have you! *hugs*
Hope you have lots of fun translating here! Teehee, the Sect Leader always makes me giggle. Who gives a man to a young girl as a toy! Tsk tsk.
*muah*muah* back! I won't mind if someone would give me a handsome man now. ha.
DeleteYou are right. I downloaded the chapters and did an assessment on the time needed. From the length per chapter, I would lucky to complete 1 chapter a week. But never fear, 10 weeks, I can last 10 weeks....
Thank you moonblossom and decembi for the translation.
ReplyDeleteActually, I have read the e-book (all). There are some parts that I dont really understand (my Chinese language are not that good and this is ancient novel so the words used are harder to understand than modern novel), therefore I really really happy that someone is translating this book.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi moonblossom....here is snowblossom showing her love, thanks and encouragement for this project...as the koreon would say it..."fighting"...interesting story...my next dose of "poison"
ReplyDeleteSnowy!! Thanks, thanks! I must be loony so it is apt I choose a tale with a equally wacko guy : )
DeleteWelcome Moonblossom,
ReplyDeleteI have not read your translations over at SSB but I've read plenty of your comments here and at Fanatical.
I'm really pleased you decided to pick this book up, as the second prologue it did pique my interest. Moreover, I'm glad there are more Cnovel translators now to quench my ever increasing need for cnovels as I can't read a single chinese character.
Thanks for the effort!
Most welcome! The story is not everyone's cup of tea but hope you will find it enjoyable.
DeleteHi Moonblossom! I'm a silent reader on SSB, I have been reading your translation work on LYF. So when I knew you picked up a project.. I decided to comment to show my support! Jia You!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Your encourage is very timely because I just did a line-by-line translation of chap 1 and realise it does not read well. huh? is it only LYF that is magical? So I will 'jia you' and go back to edit it..... : )
DeleteI only read LYF due to Koala's translation over on her blog. Finding c-novel translated is like gold. Rare and hard to find.
Deletehai moonblossom, thank you so much for translating this novel. i love this since decembi translate the second prologue and i'm surprise (and mostly happy!) when you join her!
ReplyDeletei love the girl. she's not perfect but awesome! she's smart but shameful. LOL
Anyway, thank you for allllllll your LYF translation in SSB.
Thank you Moonblossom for your translations! I can't wait for your translations~ I'm totally addicted to this novel already!!
ReplyDeletethank you for taking up this translation project. i really adore c-novels. i'm grateful to all translators for sharing the joy and fun from c-novels to the non-chinese community. moonblossom, thank you, thank you.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell me what is the difference between a 'sky slave" and a "slave"?
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your translation! But one question, I don't understand the bangles? So she wore the bangle on her wrist and the other is on his left ankle? Why is he shocked about it?
ReplyDeleteHe was expecting to be enslaved and the mark of a male Sky Slave is that he will wear 2 bangles near his ankles while a female slave will wear the bangles on her wrist. He was not expecting she put one bangle on herself first thereby marking herself to be like a Sky Slave.
Delete