Chapter 1 Part 2 Overwhelmed by favours
Until the dawn of the next day, they finally found a path deep in the forest, muddy mountain road, a series of shallow footprints extending to the deep of mountain.
The footprints were very shallow, touched down by the tip of toes. It was supposed to be left by the people who had the best light skill. In this remote forest, except for the great bandit Feng Qilin, who was being pursued, no one could think another.
So, they carefully followed, just in case of unexpected events, Long Ya marked the trunks on the roadside. Who knows that after walking for a day, they did not find Feng Qilin, but saw a Miao’s stockade!
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The walls were well built by logs, winding with layers of vines, which looked green and beautiful from afar.
Nearby, there was a group of Miao girls’ chasing around outside the stockade, clapping their small hands and singing “Large trees, large trees, vines without trees blown away with the wind. Trees grow, trees grow, vines hold trees well without root. Loneliness and emptiness until senescence, can’t compare with one love’s night…”
Long Ya and other people have not seen a sign of human for a long time. Then they suddenly met people. They were naturally joyful to see several children playing happily. They were about to ask, but unexpected surprised.
Because those children look very similar, they were generally pretty, their snowy skin, as if they were born of twins. Seeing five people including Long Ya, the girls seemed to be frightened and rushed into the village one by one, hiding and peeping from far away.
It was normal for hill folk’s children to be afraid of strangers, but they were all bright-eyed and excited more than terrify.
Long Ya and other people did not mind with children, so they went to the village to asked the way out of the mountains.
In the middle of the small village had an ancient sanctuary, winding with the large rattan vines a long the broken stone stairway. At first glance, it seemed that the sanctuary, had broken out from the ground, together with numerous rattan vines, looked somewhat strange.
Near the sanctuary had scattered cottages, a few fields, Miao’s women cultivated in the field, saw Long Ya and other people, had put down their work, warmly received them.
There are more than twenty families living in the big stockade. There were around forty people, mostly young women aged from ten to twenty-five. They are all beautiful and charming. In addition, there are several young girls and old women with flaccid skin and grey-haired. Not only no men in the whole village but also young and middle-aged women over twenty-five years old were none.
The most peculiar thing was that beautiful women were similar to those girls in appearance. If they were not at different ages, they may be mistaken for twin sisters.
Although Long Ya and others were surprised, the warmly welcome of women made them undoubtedly overwhelmed by flattered and honour. Naturally, if only a group of women lived together in a place for a long time, and a few young men suddenly came in, they would surely stir up a thousand waves with one stone.
Long Ya asked the women about the way out of the mountains, but they were told that because of the complex weather in the mountains, miasma was diffuse on these days, people and animals could not be infected with them at all. Looking up from a high place, they could see that the mountain roads were covered with white fog, even they ascended, they could not see the road clearly. As a result, they had to stay in the stockade temporarily for several days and waited until the fog faded away before they could leave.
The most comfortable thing about staying here was the four brothers of the Li family. They were not as worried about their fate as Long Ya, who concerned about a mission, hardly that they would entertain themselves.
Thought about that Miao’s stockade had beautiful women like clouds, chose anyone can compare with guniang from the brothel of the capital city. Moreover, the Miao girls were generous, informally than Han women, which naturally had a variety of customs.
Long Ya saw that Li brothers were happy to forget about shu (1) appearance so he was indolent to warn them, but there were many unusual things in this place, which really make people feel a little uneasy. Besides, the escaped burglar might be nearby, so he left the banquet and went around for a tour. Out of the tens zhang (2), he could still hear the noise of drinking and laughing.
- 乐不思蜀 (lè bù sī shǔ) means have much enjoyment and forget to go back home; indulge in pleasure and forget home and duty. This idiom come from three kingdom period. After Liu Bei (刘备) died, Zhu Geliang (诸葛亮) helped Liu Chan(刘禅) ascending to the throne. After Zhu Geliang died, Shu Kingdom became chaos. Wei Kingdom (魏) blockaded Shu and arrested Liu Chan. Wei Wang (King of Wei) knew that Liu Chan was incompetent. So Wei Wang took a good care of him. One day, Wei wang arranged the banquet that playing and dancing Shu songs. Many nobles and officers of Shu felt sad but when Wei wang asked Liu Chan. “Did you miss your home (Shu)?”. Liu Chan, who enjoyed his life said no. He was happy here. Shu noblemen and officers felt depress and gave up the idea of restoring Shu.
- 丈 (zhàng) a unit of length = 3 1/3 meter
Tea Time's Translation 