Sword Snow Stride Book 1 Chapter 35

Book 1 – White Horse Out of Liangzhou
Chapter 35 – Half a Jin of Red Makeup

Lantuo Mountain? _{Translated by foxs}

There was something over there that people revered to the extreme. Many figures, before they entered Mount Lantuo, already had too-high-to-reach status in the mundane world, could be Gan Lu Fan Guo Wang [Sweet Nectar Rice King (of a country)], perhaps Shizi Guo’s [Lion Kingdom] Wangzi [son of a king], or the Mauryan Dynasty’s [of India (322-185 BC)] imperial family. Each one was more distinguished than the previous one. It’s just that after entering Lantuo Mountain and train hard, withdrawing from worldly affair and then involving himself in human affairs, falling into the dust and mud, he was no different from ordinary monks. Lantuo Mountain has many and varied monastic discipline: must not wear silk and satin, the kasaya must not wrinkle, must not have full stomach, and must only sleep with curled legs to fit one-meter-square cloth mat. The compass and set square were so many, enough make people from the Central Plains stupefied.

Shizi Dianxia had heard legends concerning Lantuo Mountain. For example, when a traveling monk saw a lost item on the roadside, he would first draw a circle around the item and then sit on the side. Often times he would wait for several days to no avail. But generally speaking, the things that the monk from Mount Lantuo has drawn a circle around, no outsider would covet it. Moreover, there was still an old monk on Lantuo Mountain who has been confined within a circle drawn on the ground [fig. confining oneself to a restricted range of activities] for thirty-four years until now. The problem was that the people around the world did not know what this Living Buddha reincarnation senior monk who had achieved the Way – was waiting for. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Therefore, monks who have gone to Lantuo Mountain to devote themselves to spiritual development were tantamount to a piece of gold-lettered signboard, wherever they went, they were all well regarded. Some fake abbots who shaved their heads and pretend to be a bald donkey [derog. Buddhist monk] liked to open their mouth with the first sentence, “Pinseng came from Lantuo Shan.”

The spiritual cultivation on Lantuo Mountain was extremely difficult, the admission of disciples was extremely strict. Therefore, the monastery with a total of about 300 people could make claims as an equal with the Liang Chan Si with disciples all over the world. One in the east and one in the west, they complemented each other.

The red-clothed monk said he came from Mount Lantuo, Xu Fengnian believed him. Half of the reason was because he reached out and chanted the sutras just now, and the other half was because he felt the monk’s qi mechanism was flowing like the Great River to the east. Just looking at the monk’s words, deeds, and demeanor, he was quiet and immovable like a mountain, but inside were like rivers surging forward into the sea.

Although Xu Fengnian had a very good impression of Lantuo Mountain, as well as its monks, but taking this Shizi Dianxia to the Western Regions by force, there was no room for negotiation. Thereupon he asked with deep sinister laugh, “What if I don’t go?”

The Xiudong saber was about to be unsheathed.

With this first saber strike since he went down the mountain, Xu Fengnian was confident that he could smash the entire wall in front of him into pieces.

No one expected that the monk would just speak neither warm nor fiery, “Pinseng can wait.” _{Translated by foxs}

Xu Fengnian’s thumb habitually rubbed the saber’s hilt, he asked, “Wait?”

His expression serene, the monk walked around Xu Fengnian in a circle, and then quietly retreated to a distance, without any intention of kidnapping or blocking Shizi Dianxia’s way.

Not only did Xu Fengnian find it hard to believe, even the Xiao Guniang watching the show found it incomprehensible. She felt that those monks who freeload for food and drink in her house were more interesting, and that Lan something Tuo mountain was too boring.

The Xiao Guniang finally came back to her senses, she looked at Xu Fengnian and asked in a low voice, “Xu Fengnian, are you really that so-and-so’s son? Then aren’t you Shizi Dianxia?”

Presumably the so-and-so was Xu Xiao.

Whether Taoist schools or Buddhist schools, whether men, women, young and old, as long as they were in Jianghu, no one seemed to dare to call Da Zhu Guo Xu Xiao by his name.

Secretly paying attention to the great monk of Lantuo Mountain’s flow of qi mechanism, which the bull rider called just the way it is, still raising the beef marinated in soy paste, Xu Fengnian laughed and asked, “Are you scared? Do you regret knowing me?” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

The Xiao Guniang let out a ‘Ha!’ three times in a row, but no matter how one looked, it appeared that she was trying to get her courage up. Looking at her, Xu Fengnian felt even more amused, but he did not reveal it. When travelling together in Jianghu before, coming across a situation, this lass [nizi (not nuzi)] would always lose the person but not losing the troop disposition; she cursed the most vicious, she ran away the fastest.

With weak voice, weak qi, the little monk said, “Dongxi, let’s go. In any case, we already see him. If we don’t go back to the temple, Shifu, Shiniang [Master and Master’s wife, respectively] will have to fight with Fangzhang [abbot] again.”

The Xiao Guniang looked at Xu Fengnian, and then she looked at the little monk. She seemed to be making a difficult decision between Lu Yan Zhi [see last chapter] and returning home, but her pair of limpid-autumn-waters eyeballs was subconsciously revolved around the fragrant beef marinated in soy paste.

Xu Fengnian did not wish to embarrass this pure-minded Xiao Guniang, so without saying anything he handed the beef marinated in soy paste to the Xiao Guniang‘s hands first, before turning around and leaving, saying, “Wait for me for a moment, eat the beef first, and then let Xu Fengnian see you off a little bit, there is no reason you got to Liangzhou and leave the city hungry.”

Xu Fengnian walked towards the rouge shop in the eastern part of the city, his route took him passing by the beef shop. He saw the girl, who was much taller but still had a young and tender face, holding a bamboo branch and sitting on the threshold, looking at him. _{Translated by foxs}

Shizi Dianxia was eager to buy rouge, so he did not say hello. The reason why the Lu Yan Zhi was famous was because of an autumn poem written by his Er Jie Xu Weixiong.

In the rouge shop, Xu Fengnian took the stuff without paying. Contrary to what one might expect, the shopkeeper was delighted to let him be. Besides, in the past, Shizi Dianxia took Liang territory’s queen of flowers, big and small, to the shop to pick rouge. If the queen of flowers found any rouge to their taste and were genuinely happy, Shizi Dianxia even rewarded the shop with some silver coins. In the end, the rouge shop with the ‘Qing Mei’ [Green Plum Blossom] plaque would still profit big, lose small.

At the shop, Xu Fengnian picked out a box of Lu Yan Zhi and two boxes of Guifei Tao [imperial concubine peach], and swaggered off. In the shop, everybody, big and small, kept quiet out of fear, especially the elderly men of wealthy family who brought their concubines to stake a thousand pieces of gold on one throw [idiom: extravagant], they lowered their head without saying anything.

Over there, the little monk looked at the Xiao Guniang with greasy hands and greasy mouth, he reminded her, “That is Xu Fengnian? He is the Shizi Dianxia, it seems like his public reputation is very bad.”

The Xiao Guniang bit into the beef marinated in soy paste, she spoke open-mindedly, “I don’t look good either. Xu Fengnian won’t look up at me.”

The young monk became anxious, he said, “Who said that?!” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

The Xiao Guniang did not pay attention to her childhood friend’s [orig. green plums and bamboo horse] anxiety, letting out a ‘hey, hey’ laughter, she said, “Niang told me that when I look for a close friend in the lady’s chamber in the future, I shouldn’t look for someone too pretty, as a man might snatch her away. Looking for a husband, I shouldn’t look for someone who is too handsome either, because it will easily attract bees and butterflies [fig. to flirt]. I can be considered half-chujiaren [those who leave home to become monk or priest], too much taking of any living creature’s life is also not proper.”

The young monk had no choice but to move out of his backing, he asked, “Dongxi, have you forgotten what Shifu, Shiniang said about men and women outside the temple?”

In deadly earnest, the Xiao Guniang said, “Of course I remember. My Die said that the men outside the temple are all evil men with destructive hands, like tiger and leopard [fierce and cruel], murder for money [refers to the behavior of bandits]. My Niang said that the women outside the temple are all she-devils with honey on the mouth but a sword inside the belly, and cold-hearted like a snake or a scorpion. Stupid Nanbei, you silly, my Die Niang said that to scare me.”

The stupid and foolish little monk remained silent.

Tilting her head, the Xiao Guniang asked, “Do you loathe Xu Fengnian?”

The little monk shook his head and said, “Dongxi likes him, I like him.” _{Translated by foxs}

The Xiao Guniang muttered ‘uh huh, uh huh’ twice. She liked what she heard, so she did not bother about this ‘Dongxi’, an unpleasant-to-hear name.

Xu Fengnian arrived bringing the rouge, he saw the charming appearance of the Xiao Guniang wiping her face with her sleeves. Handing the thing to the Xiao Guniang‘s hand, he said with a smile, “It’s for you.”

The little monk looked at the Xiao Guniang‘s delighted expression, he did not get angry either, he was only sighing like someone who was proud of his age and experience.

The Xiao Guniang hesitated for a moment, she asked, “Xu Fengnian, is so-and-so at the Wangfu?”

Xu Fengnian laughed and said, “It will take two more days to get back from the northern border.”

She hopped up and down, and said, “Then let’s go to your house and take a look?”

Xu Fengnian did not know whether to laugh or cry.

What happened next made Xu Fengnian gain first-hand experience of this Nuxia’s strong will. Arriving at the Beiliang Wangfu’s main gate, she shot a glance at the two guarding-the-kingdom lions and said matter-of-factly, “Too bad there are none at my house’s gate.”

Entering the Wangfu’s main gate and seeing the magnificent buildings stretching all the way to the top of Qingliang Mountain, she muttered, “Very big oy, all are about half the size of my house.” _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Seeing the living water lake and the Ting Chao Ting, she giggled and said, “I like this pond, the pond at my house is not as impressive. Stupid Nanbei, you should learn from my Die more diligently, learn how to move the mountains and shift the seas early on, so you can move this pond back home.”

Xu Fengnian smiled magnanimously and said, “Move it well.”

The little monk spoke softly, “Dongxi, our temple is your home, but it does not belong to your family.”

Glaring at him, the Xiao Guniang said, “What’s the difference?”

The little monk was obviously not a guy who could stand up for himself in front of her, he spoke in small voice, “It’s true?”

The Xiao Guniang said, “Then let me ask you, is a white horse a horse?”

The young monk, who believed that he studied Dharma [Buddhism] with his Shifu because he had mistakenly boarded a pirate ship [idiom: to embark on a hopeless adventure] in the temple, was even more uncertain. He repeated, “It’s true?”

Xu Fengnian put these kids in a courtyard near Wutong Yuan, it goes to show that he attached great importance to the Xiao Guniang. Along the way, Xu Fengnian did not dare to look at her too much, for fear of frightening the little Nuxia who always liked to chatter. Since he did not look at the Xiao Guniang, he had to turn his attention to observe the little monk. _{Translated by foxs}

The green and light red cassock was spotless, it was the attire worn by Buddhist monks. Although it could not compare to the scarlet robes and purple robes, two kinds, that were bestowed by the imperial court to senior monks who had achieved the Way, it was still considerably rarely seen. Those who wear this kind of kasaya have three great merits: they obtained the heavenly dragon’s blessing and protection, all living beings worshipped and Luocha [Rakshasa, demon in Buddhism] revered. Xu Fengnian became more and more curious about which temple the Xiao Guniang called home.

Xu Fengnian was sitting in the courtyard. The Xiao Guniang was very happy about her residence, she ran around in the house in excitement. The little monk whose cassock was bare not on his right shoulder but on his left shoulder was squatting next to a swing set, looking at the sunny and cloudless sky in a daze. [Note: in Buddhism baring the right shoulder is a gesture of respect and to facilitate work.]

Hong Shu quietly came behind Shizi Dianxia.

After coming down the mountain, Xu Fengnian learned that the white-haired Lao Kui had defeated the haoxia [brave and chivalrous] wielding cavalry saber Wei Beishan, and had left Beiliang together. The Xuanyuan aristocratic family of Wulin was already struggling on whilst at the death’s door under Yuan Zuozong and Lu Qiu’er’s pressure. The Xiao Ren Tu Chen Zhibao dredged up splashing-the-heavens military meritorious service on the border.

Xu Xiao was going back to the Mansion soon.

Er Jie Xu Weixiong seemed to be coming home to celebrate the [lunar] New Year too.

Xu Fengnian was never more sure that Er Jie made a special trip this time to scold Xu Xiao for being lax in his discipline, and even to scold him for after eating his fill to the bursting point still went out to train saber.

Xu Fengnian massaged the space between his eyebrows, which all along was burning hot. Laughing at himself, he said, “Hong Shu, you may prepare the cotton now.”

Hong Shu smiled and acknowledged the order. _{foxswuxia.wordpress.com}

Inside the Wangfu, who was not afraid of Xu Weixiong?

Xu Fengnian turned his head around, he saw the Xiao Guniang, holding up the corner of her clothes, shyly went out of the house.

Surely the red makeup on her face must weigh half a jin?

The little monk’s eyes grew big.

Hong Shu cast a glance back, indeed she had a little bit of so-horrible-that-one-cannot-bear-to-look [idiom] feeling …

Xu Fengnian got up, he laughed and said, “Very beautiful.”