yukiyukiku
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Posts posted by yukiyukiku
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1 hour ago, kiefshi1056 said:
I want Gyeol will be the one avoiding Jwon after being rejected (if that will happen) and then Jwon will receive the sign he is not meant to be a priest, his request will be decline or will not pass the ordain. Then realizing that he already felt something to Gyeol but still in denial.
By seeing the teaser they met outside the hospital i assume that would be the date Gyeol asking...we got how many episodes left?
i may be weird, the only one who think if JWon refused GW, then it's a good sign that JWon is actually swayed by her
or may be be swayed by her
If i remember correctly..from the nurse (ER Receptionist), JWon always accept others' request to but them meal
even just a male female in personal casual attire, not in groups...even then they are all still colleagues
But, the 1st sentence when GW asked him: sure..meal with others in group
The GW reinstated that her request was just 2 of them having a meal in casual attire
JWon's face freezed
So i think JWon didnt dare to share a personal meal with GW cuz he might be feeling a bit swayed
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On 4/23/2020 at 9:54 AM, chococarmela said:
ED needs to go abroad and come back powerful or something, because this merry-go-round of failed plans and plots needs to stop! Again, I don't like either TI OR JH. I despise love triangles and if this drama keeps on going the way it's going, I'll drop it and I will not watch it anymore. It's not even funny anymore, this is pure idiocy.
im sure she will..if not abroad, she will go into hiding after her 2nd defeat
ED has to be not-so-smart now since this series will last 100+
And i wont be surprised if ED will come later with TI's baby...kekekeJust to make it more makjang
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I hope it will be subbed soon
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I'm sure in every variety, each person has its role
That's why every season may feel the same though the members are changed
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7 hours ago, deminni said:
Slow night in the forum, so of course I figured it's the perfect time to stay up and write! This chapter was both fun and difficult to write, and I hope you guys enjoy. I am so averse to real emotions in real life, so am still unsure how I feel about this chapter hahaha
Title: Fortunately
Chapter 7:
妳便是我 命運安排的人
You are the one fate has arranged for me.
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Wu Ji tries to tilt her face up; he wants to be able to tell her that everything he has done, he did for her willingly. Given the choice between this life and a life completely devoid of Zhao Min, Wu Ji will choose this path without a second thought a hundred times over.
He can’t help her. Not yet.
Wu Ji is just a face among the hoards of people lining the streets of the Capitol, waiting anxiously to see the beheading of their renounced Jun Zhu. They are thrilled to witness her parading around the city in a wooden trap that binds her to the duties of the nation she should not have disgraced.
He can’t do anything, but watch as her people, the people she had worked proudly and tirelessly for in a land far from home amidst the dangers of Jiang Hu, throw rotten vegetables and hurl abuse and profanities at their former princess without the slightest bit of hesitation.
Their rage will not diminish until they see their traitor dead. Nothing was going to satisfy the thirst they possess until steel separated her head from her neck. Her people were out for blood.
Wu Ji needs to be patient; he knows this. In order to save her, he has to bide his time. He had snuck into the Capitol after hearing the announcement that Zhao Min Jun Zhu was to be executed in three days for treason. For trying to save a renowned rebel fighting against the Yuan Empire. For trying to save him.
And all he can do now is stand here and watch as Imperial Soldiers escort Zhao Min to her execution.
Wu Ji knew no one could make Min Min Temür go to the extent of betraying her country and forsaking her royal bloodline, of risking life and death without an ounce of regret… no one, but a lucky orphan boy who miraculously became Ming Sect Jiao Zhu and caught the eyes of Mongolia’s most brilliant princess.
Now, seeing her like this affirms how much Wu Ji despises this fact, hating that of all people, it is him she had fallen in love with.
It shouldn’t have been him. Zhao Min shouldn't have sacrificed everything for a coward who refused to accept her love.
Wu Ji did not know whether to laugh or cry.
He had pushed her away and tried to bury the storm of feelings he had for her to keep her safe, to protect her from this unfortunate love that couldn’t possibly have a happy ending. Wu Ji had foreseen that one day, they would both regret it if they gave in. Either Wu Ji was going to die by the hands of her family or it was going to be the other way around.
He never thought it would be Zhao Min who would suffer the most.
His biggest fear and the reason he had continuously run away is playing out right before his eyes and Wu Ji can’t help her. Not yet.
From behind the crowds, Wu Ji surreptitiously lurks along the edges, keeping pace with the wooden cage. His eyes never leave her.
She sits lifelessly inside, eyes dazed and without the light and fire he has grown accustomed to, the spark that drew him to her.
There is no trace of Zhao Min Jun Zhu. She has seemingly given up.
Wu Ji fiercely wants to fight with all his life to bring her back.
They stop in front of the execution platform and a man three times Zhao Min’s size is waiting, sharpened blade in hand.
The official sits in his post far from the crowd already surrounding the area. The faces on the stage are grim.
Wu Ji lingers among the restless crowd. He is waiting for the perfect opportunity while trying to will his heart to calm. It does her no good to act in haste.
Everything is dependent upon the sun approaching the designated time. As it nears, the impatient and edgy mob gradually stills. An unnatural calm settles upon them.
The wind has picked up in the arena, lifting dried, withered leaves into the air as they swirl and dance around her in a scene reminiscent of a dark and strange hell on earth. She is beautiful even in her deadened state.
The once noisy crowd is now quietly tense as they anticipate the next act, the final act.
Everyone plays the role accordingly: she is the treasonous princess, they are the blood-thirsty mob with an executioner ready to exact justice, and Wu Ji… Wu Ji doesn’t want to be the hero. He just wants to get her out of there.
The government official begins to speak, listing off the crimes that have brought their princess to her knees. She doesn’t even bat an eyelash.
Wu Ji is worried at how still she is.
He watches as the official looks up and judges for time and sees the moment the other man decides they are ready. The judge gives the executioner the signal through a nod, and as he picks up the wooden marker with a single word etched on it, Wu Ji braces himself.
He won’t let anything happen to her.
The executioner raises his saber and iron sharply reflects the blinding rays.
With one hand, the official tosses the marker like the prisoner in front of him means nothing, aloofly sending Zhao Min to her death.
Wu Ji sees his chance. He knows he is fast enough to intercept the marker before it even hits the ground.
He summons his nei gong, moves his body in their direction, and prepares to leap out.
He can’t.
Wu Ji feels something holding him back. His feet are like lead.
The wooden marker lands resoundingly on the platform, and the hollow thud echoes in Wu Ji’s head.
The heavy saber swiftly comes down.
He tries to move, but Wu Ji can’t. He can’t!
Metal converges on muscle and meat and bones, and Wu Ji immediately closes his eyes before the gruesome separation of head and neck occurs. He can’t.
No no no no no. His eyes are glued shut. He can’t look. He can’t.
Wu Ji can’t help her. He can’t.
Out of the blue, a rough hand closes down on Wu Ji’s throat, blocking off his air passage with a fatal grasp. His eyes fly open.
Both of Wu Ji's hands go up to push and grab and pry the hand off his neck.
“You did this.”
Wu Ji’s vision begins to go white, but he focuses his eyes on the blurred figure, making out gray hair and steeled armor and distinct Mongolian braids. The man is stained in darkened blood.
He closes his eyes when Ru Yang Wong’s clutch tightens even more around his throat.
“No,” Wu Ji tries to let out, but it’s weak, barely audible, and all he can do is shake his head. “No, I wouldn’t… No…”
“It’s your fault. You did this. You killed her!” His grip tightens and Wu Ji sees red veins clouding the whites of the other man’s eyes.
“No…” he can’t breathe and everything hurts. Wu Ji’s limbs feel like they are weighed down by boulders, and he can’t even attempt to fight back.
From the corner of his eyes, he can see the hazy form of Zhao Min’s fallen body. Wu Ji briefly wonders if the red he is seeing is from lack of air or the blood she has shed.
Did she feel any pain?
Ru Yang Wong’s grip is fortified around Wu Ji’s throat, and when there is the distinct sound of cracking bones, he realizes it’s his.
“You deserve this.”
Red.
Wu Ji startles awake gasping for air as his hands come around his own throat.
He feels lightheaded from jolting up so abruptly, and in that same instance, there is also an agonizing ache bursting along his upper torso. This particular mixture of terror and pain and confusion leaves Wu Ji trembling.
He tries to focus on his surroundings and maybe recognizes that chair and that table and the yellowed ivory fabric covering the entire dwelling.
Wu Ji realizes he is back at da ye and da shum’s residence, inside the room he has called his own for nearly a month.
He clutches his bandaged shoulder, feeling out the tenderness of the wound. His head is throbbing in a similar amount of pain as his shoulder, and Wu Ji tries to focus. He thinks he is missing something important.
A swirl of white.
A gleam of silver.
A flash of red.
Suddenly, everything that had transpired starts rushing back to Wu Ji in fragments: Wang Bao Bao, fighting off the soldiers, the injured man he had rescued.
Min Min.
Wu Ji throws his blanket aside, not minding the pounding in his head nor the fragility of his limbs and rushes up off the bed, trying to find his footing. His heart pounds in panic as he looks around the small dwelling, but no one is there.
The whole room spins as he stumbles off the bed and towards the entrance. He needs to find her.
When Wu Ji swings the fabric door open, the brightness of the midday sun hits his eyes and momentarily blinds him. He grabs on to the yurt's entrance to find his balance and shakes away the dotted whites fading in and out of his vision.
Slowly, Wu Ji’s obscured sight morphs and forms into a halo that encompasses the deep blue silhouette in front of him.
The figure standing over a fire heating a black kettle that uniquely smells of wintergreen and rosewood is distinctly her.
Wu Ji shakes away the dizziness, one hand still firmly placed on the dwelling as he takes it all in.
He recognizes the smell of medicinal herbs and fragrant flowers, the crackling sound of burning wood, and Zhao Min all existing in one surreal image before him.
Zhao Min. Min Min Temür.
His Min Min.
She is here, present and alive only yards away, and Wu Ji is suddenly flooded by ten thousand emotions he can’t decipher.
All he can do is watch as she takes meticulous care in fanning the flames, wiping away the heat and dampness from her face, and Wu Ji doesn’t understand why his eyes begin to brim with unanticipated tears.
He can’t help but let out a watery laugh to himself when she leaves a light smudge of ash and soot behind on her cheek.
Wu Ji is unable to process the overwhelming feeling of relief that overtakes him. He can’t feel anything other than release; not the hot, grating pain on his shoulder nor the numbness of his arm or torso.
The thick, heavy sense of loss Wu Ji has been carrying around in his chest for the past few years seems to erupt out from his core, choking him in its escape. His throat feels constricted and suddenly there is moisture on his cheeks. He bites his trembling lip.
Three years.
Zhao Min walking away with her father’s coffin.
Zhao Min saving him from her brother.
Zhao Min safe and alive before him.
The sudden tightening of his lungs and heart takes Wu Ji’s breath away. He brings his hand up to cover the sobs that begin to wrack his entire body.
Wu Ji quivers in the tears that soak his eyes and cheeks and hand, but he has absolutely zero control as they continue to fall. His nose is now a runny mess and he uses his sleeve to try to wipe the excess wetness from his face.
The reprieve he feels and the release of tears leave him lightheaded.
Three years.
Wu Ji has been looking for Zhao Min through the passing of nearly twelve seasons, through unknown lands and deserts, rain and shine with no direction and a loyal horse as company, and she is now right in front of him.
The reality before him clashes with the insurmountable yearning he has endured for the last three years, and all of it nearly brings Wu Ji to his knees.
He is so scared this is just a dream.
Wu Ji’s own voice sounds raw and foreign to him when he speaks, lips and tongue feeling out the unused name he had been so accustomed to calling before they parted ways. He can’t remember when he had uttered it last.
“Min Min…”
It is barely above a whisper, weak and unsteady from injury and tears, but Wu Ji keeps trying anyways.
He sees her unexpectedly straighten up, turning to walk away, and Wu Ji panics. She didn’t hear him. He is still shaking, but his body moves forward before he can register it.
“Min Min!”
Wu Ji sees Zhao Min's entire body freeze.
He is hesitant, but knows this is his only chance, so he takes another step closer to her. The fear he feels seizes his stomach.
“Min Min… it’s—is it really you?”
He waits. She still doesn’t move from her rigid stance, but Wu Ji will wait. He will always wait for her.
The fan in Zhao Min’s hand slowly drops to the ground. Wu Ji notes the measured rise and fall of her shoulders accompanying deep breaths.
Let me see you. Please.
Zhao Min takes one final deliberate inhale and turns her entire body around to face him.
Wu Ji’s lips are parted in anticipation, eyes glued to her despite the tears lingering on the edges, threatening to spill over.
“Min Min…”
When Zhao Min’s eyes settle upon his, Wu Ji can clearly perceive the mingling of tears, nerves, and conflict that mirror his own.
With just the simple glimpse of her face, Wu Ji wholly embraces the release of every ounce of tension from his body, feeling prominent lightness sweep over him.
He whispers, “Min Min.”
Then his knees buckle, and Wu Ji cracks a tearful smile on the way down.
“Wu Ji!”
Before he fully hits the ground, Zhao Min is there to break his fall, catching Wu Ji in her arms and steadying him onto the grass.
He tries to keep his tired eyes open because he needs to see her. She is so close to him now.
Wu Ji concentrates on worried eyes and furrowed brows, feels soft and gentle hands grounding him. He doesn’t dare take his eyes off her.
He speaks through labored breaths. “Min Min… Min Min, it’s you. It’s really you.”
In his incoherent state, Wu Ji can make out her nodding and trying to rearrange him in her arms. Zhao Min looks troubled and Wu Ji wants to take away that look on her face.
He attempts to reach his hand up, but a surge of immense pain explodes across his upper body, and Wu Ji scrunches up his face from the ache.
“Wu Ji…” Zhao Min is trying to get his attention, one hand cupping his face, and Wu Ji wills himself to focus on the tenderness of her voice. “Wu Ji ah, let me bring you back inside. Come.”
He feebly nods and seizes his injured shoulder. Wu Ji remembers little by little of how Wang Bao Bao ambushed him with poisoned arrows and the toxins now instilled in his body.
As they stumble back in the direction Wu Ji came from, he vaguely hears Zhao Min’s voice above the ringing in his ears.
“Wu Ji ah, you shouldn’t be out here in your condition. If it wasn’t for your immense nei gong, you would have died already.”
The slight nagging tone mixed with Zhao Min’s genuine concern for him amuses Wu Ji in the depths of his consciousness.
She leads Wu Ji back inside the yurt and gently sits him down on the bed. Immediately, his world spins at a far lesser pace.
“The poison in your body, it’s called Mogain Khoran in Mongolia, made from the deadly venom of Steppe Vipers, the Aconitum flower, and the Ganja herb. To activate it, our medicinal manuals say you must mix it with human blood.” She pauses and looks down at her hands. “Because of this key ingredient, my father forbade us from using it. To take you down, ge ge…”
Wu Ji feels his head shake of its own accord. It’s okay, Min Min. She doesn’t need to explain to him. He understands.
Zhao Min takes a deep breath and forgoes her last train of thought. “Regardless, I’ve given you doses of the antidote. Like I said, had it not been for your nei gong, you wouldn’t have made it. You’ve been unconscious for two days and two nights. I thought…”
Her voice trails off as she lets out a shuddering breath, and Wu Ji’s bleary mind is still processing the fact that he’d been knocked out for that long.
She pulls out a pill from a ceramic capsule and hands it to him. “Here, take this. It’s the antidote you’ve been taking. Then you can use Jiu Yang Shen Gong to completely rid the poison from your body.”
Wu Ji obliges without a second thought, swallowing the round pill.
When Zhao Min takes a step back, Wu Ji closes his eyes and musters up his powers to trigger the meridians inside his body, enabling Jiu Yang Shen Gong to calm and stabilize his vitals. Wu Ji uses his good arm to gather remedial energy in the pits of his stomach, and his entire body vibrates with the force slowly working its way up to his chest, moving towards his bandaged right shoulder and arm. A hot sensation surges through bone and muscle, radiating heated energy capable of pushing the toxins out of him.
Wu Ji stays like this, meditating with his nei gong for nearly two continuous shís 時 as he persists through the forces coursing through his body to slowly eliminate the mix of fatal venom and herbals. Wu Ji doesn’t stop until he senses the poison has fully been dispelled. When he establishes a stable state, he feels his body reclaim the strength and solidity the poison had stolen from him. There is only a mild throbbing in his shoulder now.
Wu Ji slowly blinks his eyes open, readjusting to the flickering candles now illuminating the darkened room.
The first impression he sees consists of royal blue and embroidered white, and Wu Ji tries harder to fixate his regained sight on the figure in front of him. Her shape alters slowly into a sharpened image of round, crystal eyes, a perfectly arched nose, and lips as rosy as the petals of fully bloomed lotuses.
“Wu Ji ah, how do you feel?”
Wu Ji centers his vision to discern an anxious Zhao Min still hovering over him, and he languidly smiles.
“Min Min, you’re still here.”
She knits her eyebrows closer together. “Of course I’m still here. Do you expect me to leave you when you’re like this?”
“I—”
Zhao Min cuts him off with some minor fussing, immediately checking the open wound on his shoulder. “I need to redress it. You’re bleeding again."
He thinks the dips and shallows gathering between her brows don’t belong there, so Wu Ji brings his left hand up and uses his thumb and index finger to carefully smooth out the grooves fixed on the bridge of her nose.
He smiles, satisfied, when the frown is replaced by a stunned expression.
“There, that’s better.”
Zhao Min touches the place where Wu Ji’s fingers had been, and only manages to blink at him.
Wu Ji smiles at her again. “Don’t frown, Min Min. I’m fine now.”
Their eyes linger and her face softens, no longer frowning nor stunned, and he watches as she settles on an emphatic sigh followed by renewed tenacity.
Zhao Min’s hands move forward, but hesitate by his lapel, and Wu Ji looks down to realize he is only wearing one layer of clothing. He glances over at the vivid burgundy seeping through the old gauze and thin white fabric draped over his shoulder, then back at Zhao Min, who pauses.
It prompts Wu Ji to recall his injury at Shao Lin and how Zhao Min had fearlessly remained by his side despite the disapproving eyes of his Ming Sect members and Wu Dang uncles. She’d hesitated the same way, but pushed through any and all judgment in order to be able to bandage him up with her own hands.
“It’s my job now. No one gets to do this, but me, Wu Ji ah.”
Zhao Min had whispered it low enough for only Wu Ji’s ears as she began to undress and meticulously bandage him in front of all the other men in the room.
Wu Ji hadn’t missed the hurt in Zhao Min’s eyes when his shi shu 師叔 and shi bo 师伯 rejected even the idea of her tea offering despite the smile she presented to him.
Zhao Min had already suffered so much for Wu Ji, protected him with no regard for her own life, and even up until now, Wu Ji doesn’t think very much has changed.
He boldly grabs her hand, guiding both their hands onto his chest, eyes and smile beckoning her to proceed.
Zhao Min takes a moment to interpret the gesture and Wu Ji can sense her uncertainty, but she gives in and affirms him with a nod. Wu Ji’s smile broadens and he lets go of her hand.
She slowly pulls away the right lapel of his shirt and drags it across his sore body, letting the fabric hang off of Wu Ji’s side. Zhao Min takes great care in thoroughly removing the stained dressing layer by layer to reveal the grisly damage underneath. The fresh blood seeping out is now bright red, indicating the successful absence of poison.
Zhao Min proceeds to dust a generous amount of Ya Luo Duan Shi Gao 亚罗煅石膏 over his wound to staunch any further bleeding and ease the ache he feels. Her fingers are gentle when she begins to rewrap fresh white linen around his shoulder.
Wu Ji’s eyes are rounded and bright, and with almost a soft childlike wonder, he follows her every move.
There are so many things he wants to tell her, so many things he is burning to ask. The first question he actually initiates aloud takes Wu Ji a little by surprise as well.
“Min Min, what did you whisper to your brother for him to let us go?”
Her hands pause near his shoulder. She is quiet for a beat, solemn, and Wu Ji is worried he may have said the wrong thing.
“I… If you don’t want to tell me, I understand. I didn’t mean to—”
As he flusters, Wu Ji nearly misses what she says next.
“I told him that if either you or him dies that day, I would kill myself.”
Zhao Min’s eyes are focused on him and only him.
Her words resonate within the depths of everything Wu Ji is, and he can’t fathom her statement, her promise because Min Min Temür can and will do exactly as she says. Wu Ji and Wang Bao Bao both fully comprehend this.
Wu Ji is suddenly thankful he is still alive.
All at once, he feels so big and so small, like an inconsequential moth to Zhao Min’s magnificent flames. She burns bright and all encompassing, and he is inextricably drawn to her, resolute even in death.
Despite the years of separation, Wu Ji is certain her love for him remains the same as his for her. Nothing was going to change his mind.
He feels the weight of this knowledge and her words binding them together again, and the small hope that had sprouted within him now blooms beautifully and massively inside his chest.
Wu Ji’s search, his blind optimism, and the fears and doubts and heartbreak that had confined him all these years dissipate in this very moment.
They share no words, but as if buckling from under the intensity of it all, Zhao Min’s eyes break away. She reticently looks down at the white fabric in her hands and again starts to unravel it around his shoulder.
A soft smile spreads across Wu Ji’s lips, and his mind is suddenly so clear.
He gives in to his urges, grabs her hand again, and decisively pulls Zhao Min into him.
Wu Ji wraps both arms around her body, uninjured arm coming up to tenderly cup the back of her neck as he breathes in honey and jasmine and exhales in relief.
He finds complete solace in their embrace, letting the years between them fall away as he draws her in closer.
Wu Ji can feel Zhao Min wiggling around, anxious. “Zhang Wu Ji, let me go… your wound. I—”
He doesn't know what else to say to quiet her, so he goes with a simple, “Thank you, Min Min.”Wu Ji holds her until he feels Zhao Min’s entire body slacken and she gives in to the embrace.
"You don't need to thank me. It's my job, remember?"
Wu Ji tightens his hold on her thin frame, closing his eyes and deepening the smile on his face. Right now, Wu Ji can’t feel any pain. It doesn’t matter anyway. Pain or not, he wasn’t going to let her go again.
Then the faintness of her voice draws him in even closer.“But... Wu Ji ah, you should have let me go.”
He pulls back from the hug, puzzled by her words. They remain inches apart, but Zhao Min isn’t looking at him and when she speaks, Wu Ji must strain to listen.
“You should have let me go three years ago. You shouldn’t have come all the way out here. And for what? You—” Zhao Min is struggling through her words like Wu Ji has never seen her do before. Her shoulders are slumped and she still won’t meet his eyes.
Wu Ji tries to tilt her face up; he wants to be able to tell her that everything he has done, he did for her willingly. Given the choice between this life and a life completely devoid of Zhao Min, Wu Ji will choose this path without a second thought a hundred times over.
But she did not give him the chance to answer. In a flash, Zhao Min pushes him off and stands up in haste. With shoulders pulled back, she lifts her head up and reveals the darkened expression on her face.
It is indecipherable, and Wu Ji is left perplexed. “Min Min…”
Zhao Min’s eyes are piercingly cold and her fists are clenched tight; the tone of her voice leaves no room for compromise. “I told you not to come find me.”
With that, she brushes past him and abandons Wu Ji in a storm of confusion.
He clumsily trails behind her, but when Wu Ji makes it out the door, he runs into da shum and nearly knocks the older woman over in his rush.
Da shum seizes him, preventing Wu Ji from giving chase, and he grabs onto her out of frustration. “Da shum, I need to go after her!”
Da shum holds on tightly to his sleeves with both hands. “Wu Ji, she won’t go far. I promise you she will be back.”
He watches helplessly as Zhao Min mounts one of the horses and rapidly recedes into the pitch-black horizon, but da shum’s words pique Wu Ji’s attention enough to settle his restless feet. “How do you know?”
He is still looking off into the sightless distance as the elderly woman proceeds to try to assuage him.
“Because this is her home now. She has been living here with your da ye and me for the last two years.”
Wu Ji’s eyes immediately dart back to da shum. He doesn’t believe what he hears. “W-what?”
Da shum sighs and finally lets go of him once she feels he is no longer a flight risk. “You two just reunited. Give her some time, Wu Ji ah. Now come inside with da shum. I am sure you have many questions for me.”
Wu Ji thinks his mouth is gaping open, but his awareness lacks any kind of function as he tries to process everything she just told him. Shocked can’t even begin to describe his current state of mind.
“I promise Zhao Min will come back. For now, let’s go inside.”
As he mechanically follows da shum back into the room, Wu Ji hazily wonders if everything that has happened today is just a delusional dream he can’t wake up from.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18594964/chapters/45040090
Thank you for the new chapter
i've been waiting for it
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53 minutes ago, deminni said:
Wow guys, I am so behind! I came back and it was like 4 more pages to get through. I love it
The love is still alive, and yay for more analyses and Joseph's new drama and Viet/Canto dubbed versions to share with our international fans. The dubbing is still a little jarring to me because I had rewatched HSDS19 version's episodes and FMVs so many times now that their voices are engraved in my mind. The Mandarin voice actors did so fantastically that it now embodies who Wu Ji and Zhao Min are to me. Epic lines in those voices just can't be beat by any other versions haha.
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And so sorry for taking so long on this chapter. Life and work and everything has been chaotic and busy and fun, and I couldn't sit down long enough to properly finish the half chapter I had typed up a few weeks ago lol. Probably was the hardest chapter for me to get through writing-wise. I've also already started Chapter 7, so hopefully can post that a little more quickly than this one. I am on vacation right now, but wanted to post while I'm still at the hotel.
Title: Fortunately
Chapter 6:
妳便是我 命運安排的人
You are the one fate has arranged for me.
He doesn’t know how long they must fight until one side or the other gives out, and Wu Ji doesn’t intend for it to be him. Besides, the longer the fight persists, the more people he will have to hurt. Wu Ji hasn’t felt this wash of imminent danger since he left Wu Lin, and he notes that he does not miss it at all.
Wu Ji decides today is the day he must go.
He has been a guest in da shum and da ye’s residence for a little under twenty days, and he has not seen any traces of other people besides the encounter in the forest.
Wu Ji has also slowly and successfully remedied da ye’s cough, and he has picked enough herbals for them along with penning a prescription that the elders can easily prepare. The animals are cared for, the couple’s supplies are stocked, and Wu Ji feels at ease that he is leaving them in a good place.
If he hopes to find her, he must go.
Da shum and da ye are reluctant to let him leave, especially da shum who gives Wu Ji every reason under the sun on why he should stay: he has a roof over his head, there is a clean bed and washed clothes and he and Ping On are well-fed at every meal; most importantly, Wu Ji has some semblance of a life here where he has good people as company and daily routines that bring him a form of joy he hasn’t felt in a long time. If he leaves, he is back to being unaided with his horse in the middle of a foreign landscape that is both treacherous and lonely.
But Wu Ji doesn’t mind. As tempting as it may be, he still knows that even the most enticing of reasons won’t make him stay.
He only has one reason to leave, and that reason will always eclipse every other reason.
Wu Ji thanks them an innumerous amount of times and bids farewell to da ye and his teary-eyed da shum, who ply him with enough food, water, and a handmade coat that could last him for three winters. With a final wave, Wu Ji sets out northbound continuing his search with renewed vigor.
After the streak of good luck he’s had, Wu Ji thinks he might be on the right side of fortune.
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Wu Ji makes it about ten lis with Ping On when an arrow appears from within the thickness of Birch and Poplar, flying straight for his chest.
He catches it with his hand before its sharpened end could do any damage, but he is now on high alert. Wu Ji and Ping On’s pace had not been slow, and he deduces the perpetrator must be a highly skilled marksman.
He pulls on Ping On’s harness to steady and calm the aggravated horse; the silence around them is eerie, but then Wu Ji picks up on the increasing footsteps and horse hooves rapidly approaching them. Whoever is coming has been lying in wait.
From the shadows of thick trees and brushes lining the trail Wu Ji has taken, armored men and horses rush forward, and Wu Ji makes the quick decision to jump off of Ping On and whip the horse in the direction they had just come from.
He hopes that like its name, Ping On can make it back to da shum and da ye in one piece.
Wu Ji takes an immediate right into the lushness of the forest, hoping to conceal himself from the people giving chase.
He has a feeling he knows exactly whose arrow it belongs to.
More arrows fly towards his direction, and as Wu Ji dodges and strikes each one, he knows there is no hiding from the opponent.
He uses qing gong to jump out into the clearing, hoping to shake them off, but more soldiers rapidly appear from behind lines of Birchwood.
They quickly form a circular line around Wu Ji, and as he looks around at the faces of these men, he notices the shift in the center of the formation, creating an opening for the stately man sauntering in proudly on his stallion.
The only heir to the Temür clan with his piercing eyes and unsettling smirk. “Zhang Wu Ji, I’ve finally caught you.”
Wu Ji remains silent. He has tried his hardest for the last three years to stay out of Wang Bao Bao’s way, to lay low and not draw any attention to himself lest he tips off any of the General’s eyes and ears in Mongolia. When Wu Ji felt compromised, he fled. His goal wasn’t another fight, but it seems her brother has other plans.
“You have the audacity to set foot in Northern Yuan after what you did to us?” He taunts, eyes boring down on Wu Ji with a hatred that goes beyond war and country. For Wang Bao Bao, this is personal. “You may have evaded me for the last few years, but today your luck has run out.”
What ensues is another massive number of troops appearing from the brushes behind him and Wu Ji is surrounded and sorely outnumbered.
Wang Bao Bao’s smirk doesn’t leave his face.
Everything freezes for Wu Ji as the silence drags on in his consciousness. Wu Ji slows, taking long, measured breaths and concentrates on every movement in his line of sight.
Wang Bao Bao knows Wu Ji is highly skilled, and he has come prepared. He looks over to one of his troops and the man notes the flicker in his General’s eyes.
“Release the arrows!” The Yuan Commander raises his hand in signal, and suddenly a line of twenty men come forward.
Their precision nearly awes Wu Ji when they kneel in formation, bows stretched and strings pulled taut from every direction.
The Prince’s men let go of their strings in unison, and the release is deafening as a rain of arrows lance through the air.
Wu Ji readies himself, feeling the energy swiftly build in the depths of his stomach, surging forward through every strand of nerves and veins in his body. The mix of adrenaline and internal energy releases with a blast, and everything in Wu Ji’s line of sight flies outward, creating a streamlined pathway straight for the Yuan soldiers. The energy discharges, and a mix of bows and arrows and men fall to the ground.
This doesn't impede them. More men continue to come forth, firing arrows after arrows that all militantly intend to take Wu Ji’s life.
Wu Ji hears the swoosh of metal brush directly past his ear. He blocks as many as he can before pushing off the ground in a spin aided by his qing gong, using the force of his internal energy to bend and break sharp steel and shaved wood.
He then focuses on gathering them with his bare hands, eyes lasering in on every batch that comes his way. He grabs them easily like they are paintbrushes instead of arrows, then throws the sharp ends back in a circular path, knocking out the front row of men surrounding him. He repeats this until he is sure the men are tired and hesitant, worried they will end up like their brethren.
When it slows, Wu Ji breathes hard and takes in the field now littered with the remains of spearheads and men. Their blood dyes the brown of the earth with a dark crimson.
But Wang Bao Bao is determined to capture Wu Ji, dead or alive.
Wu Ji barely has a moment to catch his breath, then hears, “FIRE!”
The soldiers begin to use stealth daggers, hurling the deadly weapons straight at the lone fighter.
Wu Ji deflects the first round seamlessly and uses his nei gong 內功 to revert them back at his enemies. They drop to the ground writhing in pain.
He spins his body in the air and precisely catches the next series of blades with both hands, eyes sharp as he looks out at them mid-spin and launches the daggers at the next set of soldiers, injuring most and killing some.
Wu Ji lands solidly on the gravel, then leaps back up to avoid a third round of steel as they narrowly miss him.
The General is livid. He looks around at his fallen men, but his fury bypasses the reality before him, and all he wants is Wu Ji’s decapitated head to satisfy the hot, burning red in his gut.
“Zhang Wu Ji, you won’t be leaving here alive today.”
Wu Ji is silent as he steels himself, arms up and positioned much like his Tai Shi Fu as he focuses on Wang Bao Bao perched on top of his horse.
“You don’t want to do this.”
He scoffs menacingly, voice raw with pure hatred. “This has been everything I’ve wanted for the last three years. My arrows piercing through your worthless body. You'll die exactly how my father did. It should be an honor for you.”
His princely arrogance replaces the anger on his face as he turns to his men. “Kill him.”
There is another flurry of formation and Wu Ji begins to worry. He can defeat them one on one, but Wang Bao Bao is relentless and his troops are innumerable. Though Wu Ji knows he is capable, the amount of soldiers present is hundreds to one.
He doesn’t know how long they must fight until one side or the other gives out, and Wu Ji doesn’t intend for it to be him. Besides, the longer the fight persists, the more people he will have to hurt. Wu Ji hasn’t felt this wash of imminent danger since he left Wu Lin, and he notes that he does not miss it at all.
The men start charging towards him with swords and armor in a deathly flood, eager to kill the former leader of Ming Sect. As he is fending off the rush of people, the arrows join, too. Every skilled marksman has their eyes and weapons on him, and they are shooting at an even more rapid pace. He kicks away a group of arrows, then lands a palm strike on two more men charging at him.
The intensity of the fight grows with each passing second, and Wu Ji accelerates his blows, using even more force than before to fight back. A group of soldiers come down on him at once, and Wu Ji crosses his arms to block the men’s sword-bearing hands. As he pushes off on the weapons, he finds a second set of men charging at him in unison with militaristic precision.
Wu Ji narrowly avoids them by gliding backwards using the tips of his feet in a snaking formation.
From behind, he hears a few of them soar through the air, hoping to ambush Wu Ji, but his nei gong wards off the attack, propelling the men backwards immediately when their palms graze him.
The battle is chaotic and Wu Ji focuses on every sound, every sudden movement and directs his mind to calm and feel out the fight, the energy surging beneath his fingertips, eager to release. Wu Ji hones his focus.
He feels the pressure build within the depths of his core, moving up through his sternum, and with the slowing of his breath, he paces his heart, closes his eyes, and channels Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi 乾坤大挪移 at the center of his body. His hands guide the energy as Wu Ji feels a finite surge of adrenaline and conserved forces course through his veins, and with the outward push of his arms, a burst of power throws every patriot within his radius into the air and towards the barks of aged Birch.
When Wu Ji resets, his eyes slowly open to sharpened amber. He had not used this much force since leaving the Central Plains and suddenly he feels as alive as when he had first learned wu gong from a discreet manual inside a secluded cave.
The Mongolian soldiers around Wu Ji are restless, but hesitant. They hadn’t missed the sound of spines and bones breaking, flesh and blood colliding with the strength of nature.
Wu Ji sees a storm of emotions on Wang Bao Bao’s face.
He realizes the other man will not back down, but as Wu Ji looks around at the men littered on the ground, he thinks of da ye's son, these Mongolian sons and husbands and brothers who are sacrificing their lives not for their country's cause, but for Wang Bao Bao's insatiable need for revenge.
Wu Ji doesn’t want to keep fighting. He turns around to walk away, hoping this is enough between them.
But Wang Bao Bao won’t let him go.
The General suddenly sends another signal, and one single man leaps out from among the crowds.
The man lands in front of Wu Ji, and he recognizes him as the person the maiden in white had injured.
“It’s you…” Wu Ji pauses and he senses the man is more foe than friend.
He raises palm to fist and slightly bows to Wu Ji as way of introduction. “My name is Batu Boko. Zhang Wu Ji, I owe you my life.”
Wu Ji notices the Prince giving his soldiers the gesture to halt and stand back.
“You’re one of Wang Bao Bao’s men.”
“Yes, I am the one that led us to you.” Batu’s voice does not waver. “Seems like it can’t be helped that you and I face off today. General Köke Temür has saved my entire family, and I am indebted to him.”
Wu Ji may not want to fight, but the fight seems to keep beckoning him. He thinks at least he is fighting one man and will not have to injure many more. In the back of Wu Ji's mind, he is already pondering about his best escape route once he defeats Batu Boko.
He affirms Batu with a nod and readies his body into a dueling position.
“I will allow you fifteen moves without counterattacking as my repayment for you saving my life.”
It surprises Wu Ji that Batu is so self-assured. The other man had been injured and could have lost his life had Wu Ji not stepped in, but he sounds confident of a victory even with the concession. Wu Ji wonders if there may be more than meets the eyes.
Wu Ji prepares his first attack, and immediately springs into opened palms and stiffened forearms. He is striking the other man with every extension of his elbow, but Batu is alert and strong, easily dodging Wu Ji’s first, second, and even third attempt with nothing but speed and lightness of feet.
With moves four through eight, Wu Ji uses Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi and conducts the energy like a refined whip that could snap the other person in half, but Batu is able to split the force with the spread of his arms, creating two energy waves that knock down a row of trees on both sides.
The other man has no expression on his face. He projects a calmness that rivals even Wu Ji’s Tai Shi Fu, and there is something admirable in the other man’s ability to keep his word and competently defend against Wu Ji.
By the thirteenth strike, Wu Ji still has not grazed him. Batu’s qing gong now is immensely more powerful than when he was with the maiden in the forest. Wu Ji recalls the other man had only defended against her then as well.
Finally, on move fifteen, Wu Ji is able to land a palm strike on the man’s right shoulder, but he feels Batu’s nei gong flow the energy Wu Ji just transmitted back through his meridians and outward, creating a counter-force that propels both men in opposite directions.
They land with the sliding of heels on gravel as they plant their feet firmly. The two men regain their composure by controlling their breathing and readjusting their nei gong, eyes never leaving their opponent’s.
Wu Ji thinks he may have found his Mongolian match.
Wang Bao Bao’s voice interrupts the battle. “Zhang Wu Ji, fifteen moves are up. It’s time for your defeat.”
With his commander’s indication, Batu unflinchingly charges forward towards Wu Ji, and the man’s movement is faster than any martial arts skills Wu Ji has learned exists. Every strike is barely discernible until skin contact occurs, and when Wu Ji is able to feel its force, he hardly has a chance to counterattack. His eyes are fixed on Batu’s strikes, but even Wu Ji is having a difficult time detecting them.
When Wu Ji himself is able to strike his opponent, the man uses his entire body to shift his weight as well as Wu Ji’s, dancing and dodging in a mock wrestling match Wu Ji has only seen Mongolian men engage in as he traveled the country.
But this unique combination of wrestling agility, muscled force, and immense internal energy piques Wu Ji. He doesn’t understand Batu’s wu gong, but there is something esteemed about the other man’s ability.
Foreign lands bring foreign skills, and Wu Ji can admit he has never seen this happen through all of his encounters in Wu Lin. He is briefly reminded of the Persians but is pulled from his musings when Batu slides in feet first, hoping to take out Wu Ji’s legs.
Wu Ji narrowly avoids the attack as he leaps upward, spinning to gain better ground and find his footing.
When Wu Ji is mid-spin, concentrated on Batu and his next move, he feels a flash of brutalizing pain on his right shoulder.
Wu Ji lands clumsily and staggers backwards, clutching the crafty arrow that pierced straight through his collarbone. He looks down at the blood now freely flowing, soaking the clothes da shum had just made for him and notes the color is a darker tinge than usual. There is a numbness that is spreading along his arm and neck far too quickly for a normal injury.
Wu Ji’s eyes fly up to Wang Bao Bao, who puts down his bow slowly, his own eyes firm on Wu Ji. He remains seated on his warhorse with a hardened expression. If he feels any trace of remorse, Wu Ji can’t see it.
Even Batu Boko looks marginally shocked at the underhanded tactic his revered General just applied.
But Wu Ji isn’t surprised. He is far too familiar with how much vengeance changes a person.
Wu Ji grits his teeth and bears down, letting out a slight wince as he breaks the arrow in half. He grips the wooden end and pulls, eyes piercing Wang Bao Bao as metal rips its way back out of his torn flesh. The tip of the spearhead is completely blackened.
He tosses the broken pieces to the ground and immediately uses his middle and forefinger to firmly hit two points encasing the wound, hoping to slow his bloodstream and impede the spread of the poison. The jolt of nerves freezing has Wu Ji clutching onto his numbed limb.
Maybe it is the toxin constricting his rationality, but he doesn’t understand why he feels a twinge in his heart for Wang Bao Bao. For Wu Ji, there is a feeling of defeat; that her brother, her only kin left, is the one who did this to him.
Absurdly, Wu Ji wonders if she hates him just as much.
His vision begins to blur, but Wu Ji tries to shake himself out of it.
Nothing moves around him except Wu Ji. The soldiers lift their weapons, but don’t act.
Wu Ji is so tired of fighting. He closes his eyes and suddenly lets out a choked laugh.
So this is how this ends.
When his eyes open, Wu Ji has already turned away from Wang Bao Bao and his men, and his feet are unsteadily taking him away from them.
He stumbles past Batu Boko and thinks maybe he hears Wang Bao Bao’s voice telling him to stop. If the man wants to fight fairly, Wu Ji will fight with him, but he doesn’t want to have to see her brother kill him in this way.
Wu Ji can hear Wang Bao Bao increasingly becoming more agitated the more Wu Ji walks away, and he can sense the moment her brother leaps off his horse, the sound of steel whipping through the air, echoing from behind.
Maybe this is how I will die. Min Min ah, will you cry for me like I did for you?
Wu Ji is mid-step and stumble when his world comes to a complete and grinding halt.
“STOP!”
Wu Ji feels a jolt in his body that both surges life back into him, but also fuses his feet to the dirt and gravel. His mouth parts, but no words come out.
He knows this voice distinctly, can recognize it even in the slightest lift and fall of her sigh.
The familiar sound of someone’s qing gong rustling through the air behind him and the clinkclinkclink of metal on metal is dulled out.
For a moment, Wu Ji wonders if the stiffness that has overtaken him is due to the poison flowing into his bloodstream.
All he hears is her voice ringing in his head as a flood of memories washes over him.
A flash of regal red in a grand manor.
“I am Zhao Min and have waited here in anticipation.”
The scent of sweet perfume wafting from a ceramic wine cup, an enticing pink crescent dotting the rim.
“Zhang cong zi, by this point, I’m sure you know who I am. My father is Ru Yang Wong, esteemed commander of the Imperial Army. I am of Mongolian descent, and my real name is Min Min Temür. The Emperor pronounced me to be Zhao Min Jun Zhu, referring to the Han name I gave myself.”
An icy gaze paired with the fire and defiance in her tone, admonishing all of Wu Ji’s accusations.
“I, Min Min Temür, am capable of admitting to anything I do, but if I haven’t done it, even if you cast me into the eighteen levels of hell for eternity, I will still refuse to accept the blame.”
The very last glimpse he catches of her before the ensuing separation Wu Ji has endured for the past three years.
“Back then, I was able to risk everything to follow you. Now, I am also able to do everything in my power to stay away from you. I, Min Min Temür, can do exactly as I say. The only thing I regret is that the price I had to pay was with my father’s life.”
The sharpness of her tone slices through him sharper and deeper than any metal.
Min Min.
It must be the poison, because even as the flurry of movement dies down, but Wu Ji still can’t move.
Min Min.
He hears the clashing of swords behind him continue. Wu Ji wills himself to turn around.
He recognizes the long, cocooned veil of white, the maiden in the forest, but her voice. Her voice was Zhao Min’s.
Wu Ji feels his own voice shake when he speaks, throat tight and watery in a mix of fear and anticipation.
“Min Min… is that—”
Before he could finish, Wang Bao Bao takes the moment of distraction to rush past the figure in white and land a blow on Wu Ji’s chest, and they both expel in opposite directions from the force of Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi.
Wu Ji is driven back, but she is there to catch him, one hand around his shoulder as she steadies him. The misty veil conceals her face, but Wu Ji is certain he has his answer.
He considers the smile on his face to be foolish, but it doesn’t last very long as he tastes viscous iron instead of the salty lump lodged in his throat before.
Wu Ji tries to bear down on his teeth to staunch the blood, but to no avail. He feels a cold, crimson trail flow from the corner of his lips, erupting from the internal wound in his chest.
His legs give in and he buckles to the ground, but she is still there to catch him, a small, but immovable force ready for Wu Ji to lean on. When they both reach the ground, he lets the weight of his body fall into her, and she gently lays his head on her arm. Wu Ji tries to smile even as more blood spews from his lips.
Her hand comes up to wipe it from his face, and he tries to speak, to assure her, only to choke on the dense fluids blocking his airway. But he tries anyways; he wants to be able to tell her I’m okay. It’s okay…
It doesn’t come out.
The pain is there, muted and faded in the abstract of Wu Ji’s miasma, but everything seems to pale in comparison to the only two words repeating like a tantric mantra in his haziness.
Min Min.
Wu Ji thinks it is silly of him to be scared of blinking, but he would rather be the silliest person in the world than live out his worst fear. He fights back the murky shroud threatening to invade his vision of her, to take the sight of her away from him.
His eyes burn more than the wounds, and Wu Ji grabs on tightly to her sleeve.
He can’t let her go again.
A gust of wind breezes by them, picking up a little more of the fabric, and Wu Ji is able to catch a glimpse of her face.
He assumes if he dies now, he would die happy.
“It’s okay, Wu Ji ah.” Zhao Min tries to smile for him, too, but the moment is short-lived. She sighs unevenly, and Wu Ji knows she is steeling herself. Her expression hardens as she turns to her brother.
When she speaks again, it is laced with contempt. “This is how you win now? By using poison and cheap shots? A righteous man would never do this.”
Wang Bao Bao scoffs, his breathing labored as he holds onto the arm that had just wounded Wu Ji, feeling pain blossom through the limb. “You are the last person who should be lecturing me. This debt owed in blood has no regard for your righteous ways.”
The General’s eyes dim with rage and anguish, and Wu Ji knows the memories must have surged back, the sight of Ru Yang Wong’s bloodied armor pierced with the arrows his Ming Sect had left behind. “You think your Zhang Jiao Zhu is defenseless? Look at all of my men he has killed. Look at how he killed my Father!”
“It wasn’t him!” Zhao Min interrupts, and she holds Wu Ji just a little bit tighter. Her voice is softer now, tired, as she looks down at the man in her arms. “It wasn’t him, and you and I both know that.”
“It doesn’t matter who it was! They all need to pay!” Wang Bao Bao’s knuckles go white while his expression emits the same darkness he feels within.
Wu Ji can understand the fury and loathing; he knows what it’s like to lose a parent.
“I understand your pain.” Wu Ji pictures Zhao Min’s brows furrowing in grief, but he knows she is determined. “I know you’re angry. I know you want to seek retribution for what happened to… your Father, but this is not the way. Hurting him, hurting yourself… you think he would want this? If you want to honor the late General, then live in his footsteps. Defeat Zhu Yuan Zhang on the battlefield!”
Wu Ji sees the moment her words rattle Wang Bao Bao, the slight faltering of his legs giving him away. His eyes momentarily shift, becoming unfocused, but he regains himself quickly and the hatred they possess return.
“Say whatever you want, but your Zhang Jiao Zhu will not be leaving here until I watch him take his last breath.”
She draws a shaky breath just as Wu Ji does, too, and slowly moves to get up, leaving Wu Ji sitting on the ground. Wu Ji instantly feels the loss of warmth when she extracts herself from him.
Zhao Min moves forward, one foot in front of the other, and in the middle of this battlefield littered with the remnants of a lethal combat, she exudes serenity in her trail of white.
The silence that stretches between Zhao Min and Wang Bao Bao is solemnly tense. For a moment, it feels like there are no soldiers around them. No blood, no sound, nothing but a pair of sibling bond hanging by a thread.
Zhao Min stands before Wang Bao Bao, whose eyes are pouring into hers in a mix of resentment and pain, and Wu Ji watches her hand come up to cup his face as she leans in to whisper something indistinguishable in the General’s ear.
Wu Ji’s vision is blurred, but he notes the stunned expression on Wang Bao Bao’s face as Zhao Min pulls away and makes her return back to Wu Ji.
“We need to go.” She gently sits him up and swings his good arm over her shoulder, lifting Wu Ji. He admires her strength for how small she is, and he remembers how perfectly she molded into his body while in his arms.
He wishes he had the strength to hug her right now.
“Can you walk?” He feels her other hand gently press against the wound on his shoulder, and when it comes back stained in sable and crimson, Wu Ji winces, but doesn’t miss the tightened grip she has on his waist.
His lips tilt up slightly from her concern, and he slowly shakes his head I’m fine.
Zhao Min nods, satisfied. “Let’s go.” She holds onto him and steadies them to leave.
He expects Wang Bao Bao to stop them, prepared for another ambush, but to his surprise, the General and his troops remain immobile as they watch Wu Ji and Zhao Min walk away.
--
Wu Ji endures the pain long enough until both him and Zhao Min are beyond her brother’s line of sight, and as they near da shum’s and da ye’s residence, he fuzzily wonders how she knew her way back just as his world falls into darkness.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18594964/chapters/44733871
Thank you for the next chapter
i've been waiting for it
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16 minutes ago, kimmortal said:
You can read directly on their website, or you can download the eBook and read on your reader, iPad, android, etc.
Edit: The beginning is really boring, but it’s necessary to understand continuity of Guo Xiang, the 9 Yang Manual, and Zhang Sanfeng. It gets more interesting once Wuji leaves Wudang to go look for a cure to his poison. I also really liked reading his time spent in the mountains when he trained the 9 Yang Manual because it clarified some stuff for me and also when he trained the martial arts from the Ming Cult.
Now that I’ve “met” Zhao Min, it makes me feel giddy and smiley each time he has a confrontation with her or thinks about her (even if it’s just to say she’s a cunning woman) because I picture Joseph and Yukee in my mind, haha. I picture Joseph’s little pout each time he can’t beat her in an argument. I picture Yukee’s charming smile, even though the novel describes it as a “cold” smile. I think it’s going to be difficult to see anyone else in their places for the next 10 years, even if they do a remake.
ok
thank you for the suggestion
btw...are you the one who wrote HSDS fanfic with a horse named Ping On?
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3 hours ago, graceeedwardmom said:
Careful... You might hate ZWJ if you read the novel. ZM is much more enchanting in the novel.
thank you
i skipped parts and only read few parts that i need clarification or make comparison
im just too lazy to read the whole novel
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32 minutes ago, penforella said:
Thank you
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4 hours ago, kimmortal said:
I am on my first rewatch in Vietnamese dub. But I’m also doing something I never did before. I’m reading the novel translation in English, and after each chapter, I watch its corresponding episode. This is the first adaptation that I feel the fight scenes are close to the novel. Parts that were never adapted got included into the show, but I’m also sad that key moments from the novel that we’re used to seeing didn’t get adapted this time around, like Crown Prince, Wuji’s speech about true love, ZCS and YSS’s bonding prior to sabre presentation, etc.
Also, it’s obvious from the novel that girls like XZ and YBH were never contenders for Wuji’s heart because he’s always seen them as little sisters. ZX is said to be so young that Wuji even tells her, “when you grow up you’ll become very beautiful”. It’s interesting that most adaptations make her a bit older.
I just read Wuji’s meeting with Zhao Min and it’s so cute! I like reading his inner thoughts about her.
Hii ...do you mind telling me where to find the english version of the HSDS novel?
is it available online?
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4 minutes ago, kimmortal said:
Click on Next Chapter at the bottom right of the website. Since it's a direct link to her fanfic page, all the chapters are right there.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18594964/chapters/44319919
Thank you
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On 5/3/2019 at 9:56 AM, deminni said:
This chapter was really fun to write! I'd never written action scenes before, so it was a bit of a struggle there haha. Sorry if it's weird and choppy at parts. Also, Chapter 5 is half-written and a future chapter has also been started, because again, I didn't intend for this to go on for more than a few chapters, but it has grown into something of a sequel instead of just a revised ending?
I have lots more ideas for this story, and hopefully can get them onto paper as soon as I can. Thank you to everyone who has commented, liked, and is just generally enjoying this! (I'm starting to feel bad for what I'm doing to Wu Ji lololol)
Title: Fortunately
Chapter 4:
妳便是我 命運安排的人
You are the one fate has arranged for me.
--
“Would you continue to look for three more years? What if you never find her again?”
She is particularly inquisitive here, and Wu Ji can relate; he’s asked himself these questions often in the beginning. What if I find her and she doesn’t forgive me? What if I have to spend the rest of my life looking for her? What if all this is for nothing?
Wu Ji’s resolve has long been steeled.
Wu Ji gets up early just as the sun is peaking out from behind the desert hills on the horizon. The skies are a light wash of blue, and blue, as Wu Ji has become acquainted to, is his favorite color.
He ties the handkerchief around his wrist, concealing it beneath his top sleeve and puts on the rest of his thin cotton layers.
Wu Ji can smell da shum’s food as he steps out into the field. After he feeds Ping On, who unsurprisingly has taken well to having proper shelter, meals, and grassland to roam, Wu Ji is lured to the outdoor kitchen by the smell of delicious cooking.
Da shum greets him with a big smile. “Zhang da fu, you are up early!”
Wu Ji stretches a bit as he says, “Da shum, please call me Wu Ji. There is no need for formalities between us.”
She doesn’t look up from meticulously dicing the vegetables, but she conveys her sincerity through the gentleness of her voice. “I call you Zhang da fu out of respect because it has been so wonderful with you here. I know you have been hard at work not just on the fields, but also looking for herbals for us old folks, and we are so grateful for you.”
“No, it is da shum and da ye who have helped me so much since I’ve come. Wu Ji doesn’t know how I can repay your kindness.”
“You can repay me by eating all of this food!” She throws the vegetables into the sizzling wok. “Wu Ji ah, you are too thin. I can’t imagine it being easy traveling all by yourself. If da shum doesn’t fatten you up, your wife might come find me and make me pay for mistreating her husband!”
At this, Wu Ji chuckles ruefully and looks down at his hands. “She might still be so mad, she won’t care.” It's my fault she left. I deserve this.
He hears her put down the spatula and looks up to see da shum’s face soften. She is looking at him like she understands, and Wu Ji feels the need to avoid her eyes.
“Wh-what can I help you with today, da shum?” He picks up a daikon and holds it awkwardly.
Da shum laughs kindly and takes the vegetable from him. “You can help me set the table. It is just us this morning.” She goes back to finish sautéing the veggies. “Your da ye is not feeling well and is sleeping in. You can take a break today, Wu Ji.”
“Sick? Is he okay? I can check his pulse and see what’s wrong.”
“No no, no need. It’s just old people things. You can check after we eat. Let him sleep. Now come.” She takes two plates of food into the main yurt and Wu Ji follows with two bowls of congee and utensils.
He takes the first sip of congee and is thankful for another day of da shum’s cooking. As he eats, Wu Ji can sense the weight of her eyes on him, glancing his way every other bite.
“Wu Ji, I notice you wear a blue handkerchief around your wrist. By any chance is it from your wife?”
He nods and glimpses at the fabric peeking out from beneath the layers.
“Before she left, she had embroidered it for me.”
He takes several more scoops of congee successively, suddenly anxious.
Da shum is oddly contemplative, like she has many things to say and tell and ask.
“Wu Ji, I don’t mean to be pry…” Wu Ji has a feeling he knows what she is about to ask.
“…but to look for your wife for almost three years is no small feat. I know she is stubborn--" She pauses. "To not see you for three years must be tough for her, too. What had happened?"
“I—da shum…”
She puts her spoon down and earnestly waits for Wu Ji to continue. “Wu Ji ah, tell da shum and maybe this old lady can still be of help. If nothing else, it might be good to just talk about it instead of holding it all in.”
Wu Ji hesitates, not because he does not trust her, but because it has been so long. Ever since she left, ever since Wudang Mountains, he has not uttered a single word to anyone about her parting.
Fan Yao had been the only person who knew the full extent of the story having been in on and witnessing the plot come to fruition, and he was also the only person remotely concerned about her after the fact, but at that point, Wu Ji had resolved to absolutely not talking about it.
He was not going to share how he tried to plead for her to stay. Even when he knew that was impossible, he begged her to wait for him, that he was going to fulfill the promises he had made to her.
“I’m asking you for the last time. Are you leaving or not?”
Wu Ji has never seen her look at him this way. She had been angry with him before, for not trusting her and for denying his feelings for her, but never like this. There is finality in her eyes that chilled him to the bones.
Wu Ji did not want to answer this question; he tried to explain to her the severity of the situation they were in, but he fell on deaf ears.
“And whose responsibility is this? Back when I had intruded on your wedding, I had wanted to gamble with myself. I wanted to bet that your heart was like mine, that you were going to be able to throw away everything to travel to the ends of the earth with me.”
Her eyes break away, and Wu Ji wants to scream. He fears.
Nothing can prepare Wu Ji for the tearful words that come next.
“But I accept that I have lost.”
There is no life in her eyes.
“I will not come bother Zhang Jiao Zhu anymore…”
He calls her name to no avail.
“And I hope Zhang Jiao Zhu will not bother to look for me.”
Wu Ji blinks away the dampness clouding his vision, and he can only shake his head as he begs her not to continue. She always had other ideas.
“Back then, I was able to risk everything to follow you. Now, I am also able to do everything in my power to stay away from you. I, Min Min Temür, can do exactly as I say. The only thing I regret is that the price I had to pay was with my father’s life.”
Wu Ji remembers flashes of it now.
He catches the discarded hairpin. She walks past him and firmly does not turn back.
He had stood there for so long, watching as she and her father became little specks of indiscernible dust in the distance.
Wu Ji hadn’t returned to Ming Sect. It seemed his heart had a mind of its own. His feet unconsciously took him towards the direction she had left in, but he couldn't come with her. Not then. Wu Ji was lost at a crossroad.
He somehow ended up in the only place he knew that was as close to home as he could possibly remember.
Tai Shi Fu’s words had never left him.
“The things that cause regret in this world are countless. But you are still young. Any regrettable situation can still be amended… A person’s heart can move even Heaven and Earth.”
Wu Ji’s right hand firmly clasps his scarf-tied wrist.
“Her father’s death,” he begins, eyes unfocused as he recounts a story he has tried to repress for years now.
“It was caused by people I call my brothers. Da shum, Jiang Hu can be a dangerous place, but the rules are solidified, black and white. If you kill someone, you pay those dues with your own life. A debt owed in blood should thus be paid in blood. Even if I don’t agree, I can at least understand it. But war. War is even more treacherous than I could have ever imagined.”
Da shum nods, and Wu Ji knows she would understand. Her son was also a casualty among the other millions of souls lost through numerous battles and conquests.
“I… Da shum, I led my people to fight against the Yuan army. I know that your son was probably one of the—“
“It’s all right, Wu Ji. I know what you are going to say, but you don’t have to feel guilty towards me. I have watched my father, my husband…” She pauses and Wu Ji sees her melancholy smile turn to him. “…and my son all leave home to fight as patriots, not knowing if they were ever going to be able to return. No matter which side it is, I am sure the reasons are all the same. You were just doing what you had to do for the sake of your country.”
Wu Ji nods earnestly, grateful for her acceptance.
“Now tell me, what does the war have to do with her father?”
His sigh is nearly indiscernible. “Her father is Chaghan Temür, Prince of Ru Yang.”
Wu Ji can hear da shum’s sharp intake of breath. “And your wife…”
He nods and da shum’s hand goes to her mouth. “She was born to royalty, jade leaves on golden branches 金枝玉叶, but because of me, she had severed ties with her father and her homeland. She left everything behind for me, and I could only stand there and watch my men kill her father.”
“Wu Ji ah, did you know of their plans?”
He feels indignation rising from within. “No. No, I did not know. They had purposely left me in the dark because they knew I would have never agreed to it.” He looks at da shum and silently pleads for her to believe him. “I would have never agreed to it. They knew how much she meant to me. Everyone knew.”
“Did she?”
Wu Ji’s eyes flicker in uncertainty at the question. She had to have known.
“I… I don’t know.” He pauses and considers the weight of this knowledge. “I’d promised her we would travel the world together. I fully intend to keep that promise, but she had asked me to leave with her then. After her father’s passing. I couldn’t. The war… I couldn’t just leave.” His mouth is dry and Wu Ji finds it difficult to continue.
“You had your responsibilities to your people and your country.”
He nods again, forcing himself to finish. “I had made promises that were bigger than myself. In order to keep those promises, I couldn’t leave with her. She asked me not to bother looking for her, but here I am almost three years later.”
Da shum contemplates to herself for a brief moment and asks, “Would you continue to look for three more years? What if you never find her again?”
She is particularly inquisitive here, and Wu Ji can relate; he’s asked himself these questions often in the beginning. What if I find her and she doesn’t forgive me? What if I have to spend the rest of my life looking for her? What if all this is for nothing?
Wu Ji’s resolve has long been steeled.
“Even if it’s an eternity, I won’t stop until I find her.”
It seems enough of a confirmation for the elder woman.
Da shum takes his hand and cups it in hers; she is gleaming in a calm of motherly affection Wu Ji thought he’d never find again.
He suddenly feels small, transported back to a wintry oasis surrounded by three loving parents.
“Wu Ji ah, if I ever see her, I will tell her she is a very fortunate young lady.”
Wu Ji feels a wash of thankfulness come over him once again.
--
After checking up on da ye and being relieved that his cold is minor, Wu Ji mentally logs that he needs to gather citrus and aster for the older man’s formula. He can set out today and stock up on everything they need.
He asks da shum to borrow one of the ox carts and heads to a small forest seven lis east as directed.
Wu Ji first scavenges for herbals, and then proceeds with the task of gathering firewood.
He is poised in front of two trees and begins to cultivate his nei gong 內功, careful to appropriate the exact force needed to knock down two trees and not the entire forest.
Wu Ji has a fleeting thought of how absurd it must be to the previous generations of Ming Sect Jiao Zhus that he is using Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi 乾坤大挪移 to essentially chop down wood and stockpile them for an elderly couple in the middle of Mongolia.
He spends half a morning collecting as much lumber as could possibly fit on the oxcart and is proud of his assemblage.
As Wu Ji is loading the cart, his ears pick up the rustling of footsteps on fallen leaves. He freezes and listens.
He hears the footsteps hastening. There are two sets.
Suddenly, a figure bursts through the thick of the forestry a distance away and is rapidly moving past the landscape. Wu Ji is on vigilant watch as the second figure, a female donning all white and a veiled hat, uses qing gong 輕功 deftly, shadowing the first.
It is a game of cat and mouse.
Both martial artists maneuver through the woodland swiftly and cleverly, fabric and leaves moving in unison with the wind. With their qing gong, the pair kick off from the trunks of trees to change directions as they glide across greenery in a chase that resembles dancing.
They are fast, but the female pursuant is faster and smarter, Wu Ji notes.
She takes one leap upwards, high into to the canopy of the forest, then uses both feet to propel herself, spinning past the first figure in a perfect arch to stop squarely in front of him.
She lands with grace and finality, a swirl of white stark against the emerald backdrop, sword pulled and directed at the man. He knows he has been caught.
The pair is now only a few yards away from him, and Wu Ji ducks behind a tree, continuing to monitor the situation.
The female assailant abruptly thrusts fortified steel forward, but the man sidesteps her and barely has time to duck before she turns and swipes her sword horizontally, every move intending to kill. He has no weapon and Wu Ji notes that he is oddly not retaliating with any offense of his own.
He continues to dodge attack after attack, feet working in a zig zag pattern as he glides backwards through the crackling of tumbled leaves, but with every swipe of her blade, Wu Ji knows the man is in more imminent danger of losing his life.
When the man slows, she takes the opportunity to strike, successfully slashing his arm, and a deep gash blooms bright red instantly. He falls to the ground. She does not delay her next move, and as her sword nears, Wu Ji’s body wills him forward.
He jumps out, surprising both of them, and uses his arm to block the hilt of her sword from coming down on the target. She looks at him through the snowy cloak, and though the thickness of the fabric obstructs him from her appearance, Wu Ji knows she is not happy that he has stepped in.
She tries to move past him, but Wu Ji is a secured force.
This time, her sword is turned on Wu Ji.
She lashes out, but Wu Ji can tell she is holding back. She uses her sword to create just enough distance to push him back to create distance between them in order to get to the other man.
Wu Ji easily avoids the weapon, and simultaneously grabs the man off the ground. They fly back a few feet and Wu Ji now stands between predator and prey.
The man is breathing hard, but no one says a word.
Wu Ji is the first to speak. His hands go up in the formality of fist to palm and slightly bows his head as a greeting. “Nu ying xiong 女英雄, I am Zhang Wu Ji.”
She says nothing, tightening her grip on sword and sheath, and turns her back to him as an act of dismissal.
Wu Ji continues. “I apologize if I have caused offense today. I just could not stand by and watch an unarmed man be killed. Though I do not know what had transpired between you, I hope that my interference can save his life. Whatever it is, perhaps we can discuss and resolve it.”
The female fighter is silent for a few beats.
Then with the retraction of metal into leather, she simply walks away.
Wu Ji doesn't understand why he has the sudden urge to stop her.
He doesn't.
He stands there watching her leave, and in the blink of an eye, she flies up and disappears through the forest in a haze of ethereal white.
He is no stranger to highly skilled martial artists with eccentric characteristics and knows it is usually best to leave them be.
He turns to the man behind him. “Xiong di, are you okay?”
“I am fine. Da xia 大侠, please accept my gratitude.” He respectfully bows his head to Wu Ji, hand firmly pressed against his wound. “Goodbye.” The man abruptly turns and walks away, and Wu Ji is left bewildered. Both people had acted so strangely.
He supposes it could have ended worse, and suddenly remembers that dai shum and dai ye are expecting him to return soon. He should probably also head back before more trouble arises.
Wu Ji hurries to his cart, relieved that everything is still where it should be. He jumps on and prods the ox forward. He muses that the last time he was on one, she was with him.
As he rides back, Wu Ji listens to the sound of wood on gravel, silently noting the absence of teasing and laughter.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18594964/chapters/44319919
Hi there... im a long-lost member of soompi, came back just for HSDS
i want to know if there's next chapters for fanfic quoted aboveDid i miss the chapter?
Also, i want to THANK all of the authors and the translators for this fanfic and all other fanfics
Thank you so much...i've thoroughly enjoyed them
there is not enough ZWJ & ZM, especially with the rushed ending
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the link: GOT7 MV at Tudou SBS The Show
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Comeback Stage @ KBS Music Bank
People...please vote for Got7 @ Mnet.
They're no. 1, but Ikon is catching up
The Link: http://mwave.interest.me/mcountdown/vote/preVote?siteCode=S21
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COMEBACK Stage @ Mnet
People...please vote for GOT& on Mnet as much as you can
they're no.1 but Ikon is catching up
the link: MNET Vote Website
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@andy78nae doo (me too)even though their love story is a lost cause, i still hope they will find a way to live happily
i know maybe i'm being greedy, but i can't help it being sorry for both of them
i also wish LSY is given more chance to develop YR's character deeper broader and stronger than it is now -
@andy78i agree...i think he still loves herafter he kicked her out, his expression was like his soul was sucked out of his bodyit was heartbreaking
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credit: DramaKBS @ YT
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@andy78DY said that? that he wants to protect YR??aaaww.... :(i thought he was rejecting her because of her unability to convict her Dad thank you for the translation
edit:i keep rewatching the 1st video where DY & YR quarreledit's sad indeed...( -
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Michael is sure fast catching upwith 4 episodes left, i hope the PD & writer-nim won't make anything feel rushedbut ends it well
i can't wait for tonite's episode -
Aisek said: Omg this drama is almost over and I don't want it to end at all. It's official that I am very impress by Kim Kang Woo's acting. Love the time jump and was totally disappointed that Yr was still living at home she could of at least moved out. I don't know what to say about the romance part cause deep down i wish the writer would just forget about it. I really want to give Lee si young as YR more depth , i want her to stop being guilty and love sick but actually giving a helping the hand to take down her family. She saw how going the right route didn't help get justice so you might as well use the back.
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@stuartjmzooww..i seei don't go to dramafever, since it doesn't allow me watching cuz of my country..or something like thatbut, thanks for clarifying
i wish wednesday come sooner [-O<all kinds of stories run in my mind as to how DY & YR will interactand i want to know why DY passionately kissed SR all of the sudden
The love is still alive, and yay for more analyses and Joseph's new drama and Viet/Canto dubbed versions to share with our international fans. The dubbing is still a little jarring to me because I had rewatched HSDS19 version's episodes and FMVs so many times now that their voices are engraved in my mind. The Mandarin voice actors did so fantastically that it now embodies who Wu Ji and Zhao Min are to me. Epic lines in those voices just can't be beat by any other versions haha.
thank you
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[Drama 2020] A Dangerous Promise, 위험한 약속
in k-dramas & movies
Posted
nods...yup
im waiting moments when TI finally kiss ED though it wont be soon
since both of them still dont have romantic feeling for each other yet