CLX Book 4 Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – The Murderer

Inside the coffin, unclear whether it was with blood or cinnabar, there were ten blood-red characters written, “Chu Liuxiang, I reserve this place for you!” [Trust me, the Chinese text consists of ten characters …] _{Translated by foxs}

Stomping his feet, Hu Tiehua lifted the lids of the other five coffins.

Inside each coffin, there was name written on it, “Hu Tiehua, Jin Lingzhi, Ying Wanli, Bai Lie, Zhang San.”

Smiling wryly, Ying Wanli said, “Not only he has allocated the coffins for us, surprisingly, he had also seen through our background early on.”

Muttering to himself irresolutely, Chu Liuxiang spoke slowly, “He did not see through it, it was Gou Zichang who told him.”

Ying Wanli said, “Xiang Shuai thinks Gou Zichang is in collusion with him?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Gou Zichang has something to ask of him, naturally he had no choice but to collude with him. He knew Gou Zichang’s secret, so he used Gou Zichang’s weak point to do things for him.”

Stroking his nose, Hu Tiehua said, “Although I have a vague understanding of this matter, I still am not quite clear.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “To be clear about this matter, we have to start from the beginning.”

“All right,” Hu Tiehua said, “Tell me one by one.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Do you have enough patience to listen?” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Hu Tiehua said, “Such a complicated and mysterious matter, if I don’t understand it clearly, how could I sleep well? Even if you need three years to tell the story, I will still listen with very high interest.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “The key to this matter is the ‘Spending-Gold Cave on the Sea’.”

He suddenly turned toward Jin Lingzhi, and said with a smile, “As for the situation of that place, Jin Guniang must know more than anyone else.”

Jin Lingzhi hung her head down, she muttered to herself irresolutely for a very long time, and then bit her lip and said, “That’s right, there is indeed such a place on the sea, but that place does not have jasper flowers and strange grass; there is no spring of wine and forest of meat even more.”

Chu Liuxiang asked, “What does that place have?”

“Secrets,” Jin Lingzhi replied, “All kinds of secrets, secrets that people have never thought about. These secrets are being sold to the highest bidder.”

Knitting his brows, Chu Liuxiang repeated, “Secrets sold to the highest bidder?”

“That’s right,” Jin Lingzhi said, “Because the secrets are either of great value or of great importance, every year the master of that place invites some people who had some relationships to those secrets to buy the secrets. Sometimes a secret has many people wanting to buy it, then they all have to compete to see who can offer the highest price.” _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang said, “For example … ‘Qing Feng Shisan Shi’ [Thirteen Styles of Cool Breeze, see Chapter 1 and 2]?”

Jin Lingzhi bit her lips again, hard, she said, “That’s right, they sold the xinfa of ‘Qing Feng Shisan Shi’ to me, because someone from Huashan Pai bullied me using the ‘Qing Feng Shisan Shi’, hence disregarding everything, I simply must buy this secret, so that that person would fall under my hands.”

She continued, “But that Spending-Gold Cave Master warned me, I must never, ever, use this kind of sword technique publicly, otherwise he would take the sword technique back from me.”

Knitting his brows, Zhang San said, “Since you already master the sword technique, how are they going to take it back from you?”

Jin Lingzhi said, “They … naturally they have a way!”

Speaking to this point, the girl who was not afraid of the heaven, not afraid of the earth, unexpectedly her eyes revealed fear, evidently she understood clearly ‘their’ sinister method.

Chu Liuxiang said, “Yet that day momentarily you were angry, in the end you still used the ‘Qing Feng Shisan Shi’ in public, by chance, you were seen by Ding Feng, so you were threatened by him and did things that you originally did not want to do.”

Jin Lingzhi nodded, the socket of her eyes already turned red.

Chu Liuxiang heaved a sigh, he said, “In that case, Jin Guniang has been to that place before.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

“Mm hmm,” Jin Lingzhi said.

Chu Liuxiang said, “The leader of that place, what kind of person is he, actually?”

Jin Lingzhi said, “I don’t know, I did not see him, no one can see him!”

Hu Tiehua could not help asking, “Why can’t you see him? Could it be he can make himself invisible?”

Jin Lingzhi glared at him, she spoke coldly, “When you get there, you will know why.”

Hu Tiehua heaved a sigh, he said, “Looking at the current situation, we may never get there, why don’t you tell us first?”

Jin Lingzhi said, “I am not in the mood.”

Hu Tiehua wanted to ask again, but Chu Liuxiang knew that if a girl like her said, ‘not in the mood’, even if you knelt down, even if you lay bare the skin of your mouth, she would not change her mind. _{Translated by foxs}

Because she knew that if you could not ask, you would be angry.

She precisely wanted you to be angry.

Chu Liuxiang said, “Now, it must be the time for them to sell their secrets again. Ding Feng said that he came here specially to welcome guests, but he obviously did not welcome us, these guests.”

Hu Tiehua said, “But he is afraid that we will find that place, so the best way is to try to gather all the unwelcomed guests in one place, and then kill them one by one!”

Smiling wryly, Zhang San said, “The most ideal place is naturally on the boat; going up cannot reach the sky, going down cannot enter the earth, wanting to run, there’s no place to run to, unless you jump into the sea to be shark feed.”

Hu Tiehua said, “But why did he put these several coffins here? Could it be that he was afraid we might be too negligent and felt that it would be too easy to make his move, hence he specifically wants us to guard against him a bit more?”

Chu Liuxiang chuckled, he said, “Naturally that was not his intention.”

Hu Tiehua said, “If it wasn’t, then what is it? I really am unable to guess.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “What he did was just to make us suspicious of each other, to guard against each other. If we did not trust each other, he could benefit from it, and seized the opportunity to make his move.”

He continued slowly, “Moreover, if a person has misgivings and afraid of everything, he would become overly suspicious, his reaction would be sluggish, and his judgment would not be correct.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Nodding his head, Ying Wanli said, “That’s right, this kind of tactic is called ‘psychological attack’. He would make people’s hearts greatly confused first, only then he could fish in troubled waters.”

He chuckled, and then continued, “Only too bad he still miscalculated one thing.”

“Miscalculated what?” Hu Tiehua asked.

Ying Wanli said, “He underestimated Chu Xiang Shuai. He is still unable to ‘know self and know the enemy’. He thought that this matter was done like seamless heavenly clothes [idiom: flawless], but he didn’t expect that there was still a split seam [fig flaw], and Chu Xiang Shuai was able to see through it.”

Zhang San said, “He knew that to a certain degree, he could not conceal this matter anymore, so he gained the initiative by striking first, by faking his own death. He thought that no one would think that the dead person could be the murderer!”

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, “That was indeed a formidable move. I did indeed suspect him, but as soon he was dead, I was at a loss.”

Hu Tiehua said, “At that time, why didn’t you think that he was ‘faking death’? It’s not like you haven’t encountered such a thing before!” _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “At that time, I really should have thought about it, why did he remind me again and again, asking me to take his skeletal remains back …?”

Hu Tiehua sneered and said, “Because he wasn’t really dead; he was just afraid others would give him a sea burial.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “However, several people died one after another on the ship within a day, moreover, everyone knew that someone would die soon, so when he died suddenly, others would not think that he was ‘faking death’, because in everybody’s heart, there is some kind of mental inertia.”

Hu Tiehua said, “Mental inertia? What is mental inertia?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “For example, when a flock sheep is coming out of the pen, if you put a log of wood across the gate, the sheep will naturally jump over the log of wood.”

Hu Tiehua stroked his nose again, obviously he still did not understand what he meant by that.

Chu Liuxiang said, “The first sheep jumped over the log, the second sheep followed, all the way to the twentieth sheep, it would also jump over the log. At that time, if you suddenly remove the wooden log, obviously nothing is blocking the gate, but the twenty-first sheep would still jump over …”

Hu Tiehua cut him off, he said, “We are human beings, not sheep.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “This is called mental inertia. Not only sheep have this kind of mental inertia, but human beings also have it.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Hu Tiehua stroked his nose for a long time, he shook his head and muttered, “What this person said, sometimes no one can understand, yet they clearly think that he is making a lot of sense; what’s going on here?”

Chu Liuxiang chuckled and said, “Ding Feng indeed calculated everything very accurately, but too bad in the end he still miscalculated one thing.”

Zhang San said, “What did he miscalculate?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “He underestimated Hu Tiehua, thinking that once he is drunk, Xiao Hu would lose consciousness, so he seized the opportunity to make his move against Xiao Hu. But he did not expect that people who often get drunk would also wake up faster than other people.”

“That’s right,” Zhang San said, “Getting drunk quickly, waking up will also be very quickly.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Once his strike failed, although he escaped via the secret passage of the flipping board, Xiao Hu already recognized his face. Although he was still not certain whether we would discover the secret of his ‘faking death’, this kind of people would never want to take risks, hence he had to resort to this last move!”

Ying Wanli sighed and said, “That’s right, no matter what he did, he has already prepared a way out. ‘Faking death’ was his first way out, and when he could no longer use this path, he would turn to another path.” _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang said, “He must have had some agreement with Gou Zichang, when necessary, Gou Zichang would lure us away so that he has a chance to escape.”

Bai Lie could not help saying, “The ocean is boundless, where could he escape?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “On the deck, originally there was a small life-boat for emergency use, but when I went to the deck just now, the small boat was gone.”

Bai Lie said, “That kind of small boat, how far can it go on the sea? One encounter with a big wave, it may capsize immediately.”

Ying Wanli sighed and said, “Based on Ding Feng’s meticulous planning, presumably there is their ship nearby to provide support.”

Bai Lie was silent for half a day, suddenly he laughed and said, “But in the end he still escaped by himself, in the end, he still failed to kill us.”

Ying Wanli suddenly stopped talking.

Chu Liuxiang smiled wryly and said, “He left us here because he knew we won’t survive for long.”

No matter how bad the situation, Chu Liuxiang was always brimming with hope.

It looked like he never despaired. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

But now, the three words ‘not survive for long’ [huo bu chang] unexpectedly came out of his mouth.

Emotionally moved, he said, “Won’t survive for long? Why can’t we survive for long?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “The ocean is boundless, we have no charts to indicate the direction, and we don’t know where the islands and dry land are. Before he left the ship, he killed all the sailors on the ship, it is precisely to trap us dead on the sea!”

Hu Tiehua said, “But at least we can go back the same way.”

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “This is a very big boat. Although Zhang San is proficient in navigation, I more or less also know a thing or two, but relying on our, two men’s strength, we are unable to maneuver such a big boat smoothly, let alone …”

Hu Tiehua said, “Let alone what?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Our biggest problem is food and drinking water …”

Hu Tiehua interjected, “That’s not a problem. I already went to the cargo hold behind the galley to check, we have plenty of food and drinking water.” _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, “If I am not guessing incorrectly, Ding Feng could not possibly leave those things for us.”

Hu Tiehua was stunned, he turned around and said, “I’ll go and see, maybe he forgot …”

Ying Wanli said, “Don’t bother, he has not forgotten!”

It was like Hu Tiehua was suddenly nailed to the ground.

Ying Wanli heaved a deep sigh and said, “When I was looking for people just now, I already found that all the water tanks are smashed, there is not even a cup of water left.”

Hu Tiehua said, “What about the food?”

Ying Wanli said, “The food has not been touched, because he knows that dying of thirst is faster than starving, plus it is much more unbearable.”

Jin Lingzhi suddenly said, “So what if there is no water? The sea has so much water, it won’t be exhausted even if we drink it all our life.”

This young lady was indeed pampered and spoiled since childhood, she did not understand anything, even Ying Wanli could not help laughing.

Jin Lingzhi’s eyes grew big, she said, “What’s so funny? Did I say something wrong?”

Hu Tiehua held back his laughter, he said, “Absolutely right.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Rolling his eyes, he went on, “Once upon a time, there was a very smart emperor. When he went on an inspection tour, he saw that the people in the city would starve to death very soon, so he asked, ‘What’s happening here?’ Other people then replied, ‘Because of the drought over many years, there is no harvest in the fields, so everyone has no rice to eat.’ The emperor was even more baffled, he asked, ‘No rice to eat, why can’t they eat chicken, eat meat?’”

At a time like this, surprisingly some people were still in the mood to tell jokes; other than Hu Tiehua, probably it would be difficult to find the second person.

Jin Lingzhi’s eyes grew even bigger, surprisingly, she still did not understand.

Bai Lie looked at her, his eyes immediately became gentle, he spoke softly, “Sea water is salty, it’s undrinkable. If you drink it, not only you might vomit, sometimes you might turn crazy.”

Jin Lingzhi blushed; biting her lip, she turned her head around, suddenly she blurted out, “Look, what is that?”

Everyone followed her gaze, only then did they see the black suitcase in the corner.

It was precisely the suitcase that the Gou Zichang has always been holding in his hand and never let go. Hu Tiehua was the first to rush over and picked up the suitcase. Looking at it carefully, he said, “That’s right, this is indeed Gou Zichang’s suitcase.” _{Translated by foxs}

Zhang San said, “He considered this suitcase more important than his life, how could it be left here?”

Bai Lie said, “Could it be that the suitcase is empty?”

Hu Tiehua weighed it with his hands, he said, “It’s not empty, it’s very heavy, at least a hundred catties.”

Zhang San chuckled, he said, “When I saw his face, I was wondering, he carried this suitcase for thousands of li, what exactly is inside? Why did he consider this suitcase so priceless?”

Very proud of himself, he laughed and said, “But now, I don’t need to open it to see, I can already guess.”

“Oh?” Hu Tiehua said, “When did you become so smart?”

Zhang San said, “This suitcase must contain the treasures he robbed, that’s why he said that the suitcase is worth more than gold.”

Bai Lie’s eyes lit up, he could not help reaching out, wanting to pick up the suitcase.

Chu Liuxiang suddenly chuckled, he said, “I’m afraid you guessed wrong.”

Zhang San said, “What do you mean I guess wrong?” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Chu Liuxiang chuckled and said, “If what’s in this suitcase is really a priceless treasure, even if Gou Zichang himself forgot, Ding Feng would definitely not forget.”

Ying Wanli sighed and said, “That’s right, without those treasures, he practically would not be able to go to that spending-gold cave on the sea.”

Bai Lie slowly withdrew his hand, his face already a bit reddened.

Hu Tiehua looked at Zhang San from the corner of his eyes, he laughed and said, “I thought you had become smarter, turns out you are still an idiot.”

Zhang San glowered at him, he said, “All right, in that case, you guess what’s in this suitcase?”

Hu Tiehua said, “I cannot guess, and I don’t need to guess, the suitcase is in my hand, I only need to open it and take a look, and then I’ll know.”

The suitcase was locked, it had two locks, both were very well made and also very sturdy.

Hu Tiehua muttered, “Since the suitcase is left behind, why didn’t he leave the key?”

He was about to twist the lock with his hands, but suddenly he stopped, laughed and said, “Since there is a big commander-in-chief among the little thieves here, why do I have to bother?” _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang laughed indifferently, he took the suitcase, took a closer look, and said, “This lock was made by Zhao Mazi [pockmark surnamed Zhao] of the Juan Lianzi [lit. Rolling Curtain] Alley, I may not necessarily be able to open it.”

Bai Lie suddenly said, “Let me try, is that all right?”

In the end, he was still worried about handing over the suitcase to other people.

Chu Liuxiang said, “You’d better be careful. Some suitcases also contain spring mechanism, booby traps, poisonous smoke, knockout drugs, and so on. In my opinion, it’s still better not to open it.”

Forcing a laugh, Bai Lie said, “This moment we are in a desperate situation anyway, what harm is there in taking a risk?”

His left hand received the suitcase, his right hand suddenly pulled out a dagger which cold light radiating all around. In just a glance, anybody could tell that it must be a sharp weapon that could pare gold and cut jade.

Hu Tiehua was the first could not help blurting out in praise, “Good blade!”

Bai Lie’s face showed a pleased-with-himself expression, he said, “This is a gift from Xiong Da Jiangjun. It is said that this is an ancient relic over a thousand years old.”

He was about to cut the lock with the blade, who would have thought that suddenly his left hand was gently lifted by someone, the suitcase was suddenly in Chu Liuxiang’s hands. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Bai Lie’s countenance changed, he said, “Could it be Xiang Shuai …”

Ying Wanli immediately cut him off, saying, “Xiang Shuai has always been the most cautious, listen to him, you will never be wrong.”

Although Bai Lie did not say anything more, his expression showed that he was a bit dissatisfied.

Chu Liuxiang said, “I always feel that with no cause, no reason [idiom], they would definitely not leave the suitcase here. Even if we want to take a look, we should be a bit more careful.”

While his mouth was speaking, he put the suitcase in a far corner.

Bai Lie spoke coldly, “Could it be that Xiang Shuai can use magic to open the suitcase from such a distance?”

Chu Liuxiang laughed indifferently, “I wonder if I can borrow the treasured blade?”

Bai Lie hesitated, but in the end he still handed over the dagger in his hand.

Chu Liuxiang lightly stroked the edge of the blade, he sighed and said, “Indeed it’s a treasured ‘chui mao duan fa’ [hard to translate succinctly: when you blow a strand of hair on it, the hair will be cut] blade!” _{Translated by foxs}

As soon as the word ‘blade’ came out of his mouth, the dagger also shot out!

Cold light flashing, only to hear two ‘Ding! Ding!’ sounds; following the blade passing through, the two locks on the suitcase fell down.

Bai Lie was emotionally moved, he blurted out, “Good …”

But the word ‘Good’ had just come out of his mouth, suddenly there was a big bursting-the-mountain, splitting-the-earth explosion. The entire cabin shook and the ship swayed.

Unexpectedly the black suitcase suddenly exploded!

The corner of the cabin immediately shattered, and sea water surged in!

Bai Lie was so frightened that he could only stand blankly, cold sweat poured down like rain from his head. If he was the one opening the suitcase just now, he would have been turned into ashes by now, none of his bones left.

Hu Tiehua spoke hatefully, “Bastard s.o.b., could it be that he still afraid that we won’t die quick enough?”

He wanted to cuss some more, but right now they did not even have the time to swear. The sea water poured in; in just a short moment their legs were already submerged in water. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Ying Wanli spoke hoarsely, “Quickly retreat, back to the deck!”

Smiling wryly, Zhang San said, “This ship will sink to the bottom of the sea in a moment, what’s the use of retreating back to deck?”

Hu Tiehua spoke hatefully, “This guy’s [orig. manservant (derogatory)] heart is so poisonous that he did not even leave the lifeboat.”

Gritting his teeth, Zhang San said, “Looks like when he escaped in that small boat, he already planned it well.”

Ying Wanli sighed and said, “This person really has exhaustive schemes, one has no choice but to admire.”

After the incident, all along Chu Liuxiang was standing on the spot as if he was also dumbfounded, this moment he suddenly said, “He still miscalculated one thing.”

“What did he miss?” Hu Tiehua rushed to ask.

Chu Liuxiang said, “Coffin!”

A coffin is like a small boat. The six coffins were quickly lifted onto the deck and lowered into the sea.

Each person happened to have one coffin. _{Translated by foxs}

Sitting in the coffin, watching the ship gradually sank –– this kind of feeling, other than those who have experienced it, perhaps no one else could understand.

Thereupon, on the sea, as far as the eyes could see, there were only these six coffins remained, plus the six people sitting inside the coffins.

This kind of scene, other than those who have seen it with their own eyes, perhaps no one else could envision.

Hu Tiehua laughed suddenly, he said, “These six coffins were originally prepared by him to send us to our ends, who would have thought that they saved our lives instead.”

Zhang San also laughed, he said: “The best thing is, he seemed to be afraid that it would be too crowded for us, so he happened to prepare six coffins.”

Roaring in laughter, Hu Tiehua said, “I am afraid he himself would never have imagined this, not even in his dream.”

Zhang San laughed and said, “I hope one day I can tell him face to face and see the expression on his face.”

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “You don’t need to look, I can already imagine that that kind of expression must be very good to see.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Bai Lie looked at them as if he himself was in a daze. The ocean was boundless, they could not tell the direction, the ship already sank, they had no food and drink, all they could do was to sit in the coffin, waiting for death.

Yet surprisingly these two men could still laugh, surprisingly they seemed to feel that this kind of thing was very amusing.

Bai Lie was indeed a bit baffled.

What he didn’t know was that as long as one can still laugh, it shows that he still has the courage! As long as one has the courage, one can survive!

Compared to most people, they were a bit stronger, thus it was the source of their confidence.

Chu Liuxiang suddenly took out a few bundles of rope from the coffin, he said, “If you guys have laughed enough, quickly find a way to tie these six coffins together. The sea is boundless, we must not be separated.”

Hu Tiehua laughed and said, “Surprisingly you brought rope, fancy that you can think of it.”

Zhang San said, “But what’s the use of these coffin lids? Why do you want us to take them along?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “Around noon, the sun will be too strong, plus we have no water to drink, how could we endure being exposed to the scorching sun? Therefore, we can cover the coffin and lie down in the coffin to sleep.” _{Translated by foxs}

Bai Lie could not help letting out a long, long sigh, he said, “Xiang Shuai is indeed very thoughtful and thorough, absolutely no one can reach. Even though Ding Feng is vicious and merciless, his schemes inexhaustible, but compared to Xiang Shuai, he is still a notch inferior.”

It was only this moment that he really submitted to Chu Liuxiang.

Hu Tiehua also sighed and said, “This old stinky bug is indeed not human, even I admire him a little bit.”

No matter who, sooner or later they would admire Chu Liuxiang.

Ying Wanli sighed and said, “Until the extraordinary time, you can’t see Chu Xiang Shuai’s extraordinariness. Only at the critical moment of life and death, you will know that Chu Xiang Shuai is, after all, Chu Xiang Shuai, there is absolutely no second person that can compare.”

Chu Liuxiang just sat there; he seemed not to hear what they said at all.

He was only thinking about one thing: how to set foot on dry land alive!

The sea and the sky are boundless, who would know where the dry land is? The sun was just rising from the east, the sea was glittering with tens of thousands of golden rays. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Rubbing his eyes, Hu Tiehua smiled wryly and said, “It seems that we have to hand over this life to the sea. My luck has always been not too bad, maybe it will take us to dry land.”

Zhang San sighed, he said, “Look, this man is not asleep yet, he is already dreaming.”

Staring at him, Hu Tiehua said, “Dreaming? Are you saying that it is impossible?”

Zhang San replied, “Naturally it’s impossible.”

Hu Tiehua asked, “Why?”

He was asking the question to Chu Liuxiang, because he knew that not only Zhang San would not explain to him, perhaps he would even say a few bad words to him instead.

Chu Liuxiang said, “The sea is different from the rivers, which flow in a certain direction, therefore, if we sit still without moving, after another three months, we will still be circling here.”

Hu Tiehua stared blankly for half a day, he asked, “In that case, what should we do?”

Chu Liuxiang said, “The sea water doesn’t move, we have to move ourselves.”

Hu Tiehua said, “How do we move?” _{Translated by foxs}

Chu Liuxiang said, “This coffin lid has a second purpose, which is to use it as the paddle. Except for Jin Guniang, the five of us will have to expend some energy.”

Jin Lingzhi suddenly asked, “Why did you exclude me?”

Chu Liuxiang chuckled, but did not speak.

Hu Tiehua could not help saying, “Because you are a woman, he always gives women a bit more preferential treatment.”

Jin Lingzhi glowered at him, she was the first to take the coffin lid and started to paddle vigorously.

Hu Tiehua cast a glance at Chu Liuxiang, he laughed and said, “It seems that this time you wanted to pat the horse’s butts but you patted the horse’s feet instead. Some women always feel that they are stronger than men, so you should treat them as men, it’s just that …”

He continued indifferently, “If a person is blessed but cannot enjoy it, even if he is smart, it would be very limited.”

Jin Lingzhi looked like she was about to scream again.

Bai Lie hurriedly said, “Jin Guniang is a hero [or towering figure] among women, we shouldn’t regard her as an ordinary woman.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Chu Liuxiang said, “Since that’s the case, we’ll divide the six of us into two shifts. Jin Guniang, Bai Xiong, and Ying Lao Qianbei [Senior] will be in the first shift, and then Zhang San, Xiao Hu and I will take over.”

Bai Lie asked, “Which direction should we paddle?”

Muttering to himself irresolutely, Chu Liuxiang said, “Southeast.”

Bai Lie could not help asking again, “The southeast is exactly where the sun is right now, which is very glaring. Why not go to the northwest? Besides, didn’t we come from the northwest? There must be dry land there.”

Chu Liuxiang said, “But our boat had been traveling for two days before we got here. With our current physical strength, we absolutely cannot paddle back.”

Bai Lie said, “But the southeast …”

Chu Liuxiang interrupted him, saying, “It is said that on the southeastern sea there are many small islands which names we do not know, and they are on the path the seagoing ships must take when they going east to Fusang [believed to be referring to Japan] for business. Whether we come across a seagoing ship or a small island, we will be saved.”

Bai Lie thought for a moment, then he sighed and said, “Xiang Shuai is indeed much more brilliant than me, I submit to you again.”

The coffin lid was rectangular and heavy, it was very difficult to exert force through it, so it was not suitable for use as an oar. _{Translated by foxs}

Fortunately, these people were all Wulin masters, naturally their arm strength was much stronger than ordinary people. The three people exerted their strength together, surprisingly, these six coffins became a ‘raft’ that they rowed very fast. The most hard-working was actually Jin Lingzhi, obviously she deliberated wanted to show off a bit for Hu Tiehua to see.

Bai Lie’s eyes had never left her; smiling apologetically, he said, “It seems that not only Jin Guniang is not inferior to men in any aspect, she is simply much stronger than men.”

Hu Tiehua was lying in the coffin with closed eyes, he spoke leisurely, “She is indeed very capable, only –– seeing a woman who is too useless is giving men a headache, but seeing a woman who is too capable, men cannot stand it just the same.”

What he said was not without reason. In front of women, men like to appear as the ‘protector’ and the ‘strong’ one. Sometimes, although with their mouth they complain that women are too useless, in their heart they are actually immeasurably self-satisfied.

Therefore, in front of a man, a smart woman would always pretend to be too weak to stand up to the wind, and would be happy to leave all the hard and exhaustive work for the man to do. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

This time, surprisingly Jin Lingzhi did not stare, lose her temper, or answer back sarcastically. This was because she was too tired that she did not have any strength  to get angry. Her hands were blistered and were extremely painful, her arms were aching and sore even more that they were almost numb. Even though she was still clenching her teeth and doing her utmost, her movements was already slowing down. Such a thousand jin of gold young lady, when did she ever had to suffer such injustice?

Hu Tiehua had been watching her out of the corners of his eyes, this moment he suddenly jumped up and said, “It’s time to change shifts.”

Bai Lie also cast Jin Lingzhi a glance, he laughed and said, “We might as well change shifts, I’m indeed a bit tired.”

Ying Wanli looked at him, then he also looked at Jin Lingzhi, although his eyes carried a smiling expression, but it was also a bit melancholy –– this old fox’s eyes have indeed seen a lot, how could he not see what happened between these young men and women?

What he was happy about was that Bai Lie, who has always thought very highly of himself, now surprisingly had someone that he liked, but what he was worried about was that he was afraid that Bai Lie’s affection would eventually come to naught. He discovered that even though Jin Lingzhi was losing her temper and glaring at Hu Tiehua fiercely, the expression showing in her eyes was different from when she was looking at other people.

He also understood very well that women’s love and hate are often hard to distinguish.

---