MHNEB 17 (2/2)

Book 1:  Now we don’t hear the loom shuttle; we only hear our daughter sighing.

第17章卢水胡人

Chapter 17: The Lushuihus [Part 2 of 2]

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The clash between them ignited sparks that illuminated the faces of them. He Mulan and the curly-haired youth have clashed multiple times in this short amount of time.

Whenever their weapons collided, the sparks from their weapon’s collision caused the others to be extremely fearful.  It was as if some of them think that the sparks could burn them.

Bam, bam! Bam, bam!

This is the machete sword style that the LuShuihu people are known for. The sword style would allow the movement of the wielder to be terrifyingly light and fast.

The curly-haired youth didn't groan or utter any sound during the fight. He Mulan abhorred this type of behaviour where if the burglar failed to snatch what he wanted, he would change plans to forcefully snatch the object. Hence, she showed no mercy. She pushed forward a short blade. With this action, Hua Mulan’s short blade caused the Hu-ren’s weapon to break into pieces. It shattered with a “crack” sound and broke.

The curly-haired youth originally intended to force Hua Mulan to retreat with his sharp knife. But, he suddenly received a heavy blow from He Mulan. This caused his weapon to shatter. He failed to react at that moment and could only grit his teeth while taking several steps back.

The bunch of curly-haired young men saw that their leader was defeated. They decided not to involve themselves with her. They made a whistling sound and fled, following him.

He Mulan didn't want to chase this bunch of thieves. Her belongings were still behind her, and Hua Mulan's family was not far away from here. At this time, if she fell for the enticement to “lure a tiger away from its mountain”(6), it would be too late for regrets.

In an instant, there were only two wandering swordsmen who were abandoned by the LuShuihus. They were so frightened that a look of shock and bewilder was plastered of their faces.

He Mulan stepped forward and gave them a punch each. She relaxed her arms and legs and sent them a punch that knocked them out.

The Hua family who lived next door had clambered over after hearing the commotion of the fight. They frantically lit a lamp. When they arrived at Hua Mulan’s courtyard, the Lushuihus had already all fled.

"Mulan, are you okay?" Hua Father was carried over by Hua younger brother. When he joined the army that year, after crossing the river, he engaged in the battle directly. His legs froze. Therefore, whenever the weather is cooler his leg injury would flare-up. He had no choice but to return to putian in his thirties. In any cases of emergencies, he could only rely on his son to carry him.

Fang-shi and Yuan-shi did not head out. To add, their doors and windows were kept tightly shut and they remained in their houses. He Mulan saw that she had probably alarmed the elderlies. In her heart, she felt more enraged by this group of Lushuihus.

“Father, bro, nothing’s wrong. Some burglars came to visit us to steal our things. That’s all.” He Mulan used the tip of her toes to nudge the two thieves. “These thieves were caught. Do not worry.”

"It’s good that you caught them then, it’s good that you caught them then.” Hua father glanced at his daughter’s look of not sheathing the short blade. He patted Hua younger brother to signal him to put him down.

"Why do the thieves sheath their weapons? I just heard the sound of metal colliding. Did they sheath their swords?" Hua Father squatted down to check their palms. “If these people are thieves, their blisters should be on their fingers, not on be between their thumb and index fingers.”

He Mulan had once again changed the way she looked at Hua Father.

The father of the Hua family had either been a scout in the army or he is naturally born with such a talent.

He is really alike to her father. Her father is an old cop, rich in experience in handling cases. He is usually taciturn, but when anything major occurs, he becomes very reliable.

"They also came with several LuShuihus. It seems that the Han thieves are being coerced by those LuShuihus. The leader of the Hu-ren is not weak. He should have been in the Liang army.”

The Lushuihu’s status and identity are very complicated. As long as they are given money, they can fight for either the Wei and or the Rourans. When the Liang Kingdom was still in existence, many LuShuihus were in the Great Wei but they secretly transported goods and materials to the Liang Kingdom. The sole reason for doing so was because of Liang Kingdom was a country established by the LuShuihus.

This branch of Hu-ren is not very well-received in the Great Wei. But since there are many ethnic groups in the Great Wei, and once they suppress an ethnic group too severely, other ethnic groups would undoubtedly feel a chill to their bones. Therefore, they could only use heavy taxes to inhibit their clan development.

“Did they come to seek revenge?”

Hua Mulan had been in the army for so many years. It is normal for her to have been engaged in a fight with the LuShuiHus before.

"They tried to pry open the door to my warehouse. They saw that their attacks would not work so they left. Their motive should be to steal.  It was only that after they realized my existence they decided to forcefully snatch what I own, but they didn’t manage to defeat me. They decisively left.” He Mulan did not know why they left so decisively. Under such a situation, most people would rely on the numbers on their side to try to fight it out.

She didn't tell Hua father that she had announced her name to them. If she told that to him, Hua father would be more worried.

"Since ancient times, people who achieve great things would always borrow others to accomplish their goals. I am afraid that the few LuShuihus who have run away will return again." Hua father's face reflected his worries.

"Let's keep some dogs at home."

Although his daughter was rich, she was always troubled with issues like this.

He can’t turn a blind eye to it. For the safety of his daughter, he thought that they should return to HuaiShuo county. At least, there would be relatives and friends living around them, and there would be someone to look after them if anything goes wrong.

While Hua Father was thinking about where should he get a few good dogs from, Hua MuTuo had ran to Hua Mulan's warehouse. He pulled out some hemp ropes, tied the two thieves tightly, and then he went to rack up the problem to them.

“Sis, what should we do with them?”

"When they wake up, I'll interrogate them.” He Mulan looked at the two unlucky bastards tied up in the shape of the rice dumpling (7) on the ground. "When I got the answers I wanted, I will take them to Yu City’s administration and we will hand them over to Magistrate You. We will see what he does then. "

The next day, He Mulan personally interrogated the two wandering swordsmen. Although she is a forensic doctor, she had also seen many cases of methods to interrogate the prisoner. Hence, after mere moments, she got the information she had wanted to know.

These Lu Shuihus have been hidden in an abandoned Buddhist temple in Yu city. Coincidentally, this happens to be the place where these groups of wandering swordsmen rendezvous. Some time ago, they failed in trying to steal Hua Mulan’s possessions because they met a ghost. This incident was discussed by the other wandering swordsmen with relish. 

Later, these two unlucky bastards were identified and singled out. They were caught by these LuShuihus and forced to lead the way and unlock the doors to her warehouse.

The LuShuihus were reputed to be ferocious. The two wandering swordsmen had young children. Naturally, they were afraid to act rashly.

Because they had trouble communicating with their differences in languages spoken, and only the leader of the brown curly-haired men can speak some Mandarin, so they do not know who these LuShuihus are.

But hearing from the several LuShuihus who called out to their leader, their leader's name is probably "Gai Hu" or "Gai Wu".

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(6) lure the tiger out of the mountains -- entice one's opponents to leave their vantage ground; entice a person from his haunts so as to facilitate some evil action on him;

(7) 粽子: a type of rice dumpling that looks like this: here
The rice dumpling is usually wrapped in bamboo leaves and filled with glutinous rice and all sorts of ingredients, depending on which part of China the dumpling originated from. Available in sweet and savoury flavours.

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Fleur's Corner:

I'm back from my short holidays! Next update will be by next Tuesday, (24/12), Christmas Eve! 

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