I want more poems, and thank you Zokels for joining me on this one on proofreading duties. And thanks to Christina H for additional proofreading!
BTW, I'd be obliged if anyone is interested in editing chapter 2 to chapter 29. I know there are blatant mistakes/typos left because I catch them when I go back. If you're interested drop me a line in a comment, the form of the contact page or by mail.
Notes
1. 六感 translated literally. To my knowledge, the "sixth sense" isn't a traditional Chinese concept. It rather derivates from modern western influence. Here it's implied that it's something developed through martial arts.
2. 同病相怜 lit. "sufferers of the same malady". Idiom descriptive of empathy for shared experience.
3. 昙花一现 idiom that's pretty self-descriptive by itself, refers to something short-lived.
4.The three first verses are from the author. Followed by a quote from 自遣 by 罗隐: "得即高歌失即休, 今朝有酒今朝醉". I like that last line a lot "Today's wine is today's intoxication". The Xiling tombs is a necropolis in Hebei. Here used to invoke mood rather than locate the narrative.
Edit: a great catch by a reader who pointed out to me that the three first verses are inspired by Li He's《 小小墓》.
" Xiling/西陵 in the poem refers to the famous courtesan Su Xiaoxiao’s grave. She was known as a great beauty in Qi of the Southern dynasties, who died young (and later inspired several poets to write about her). So lamenting a beauty’s early death has some obvious parallels to the chapter."
Thanks Kuu!
5. 死士 lit. "death soldier". A good translation would be "kamikaze" in its generic usage, but that would be only importing a loan word from another language.
6. 三头六臂 idiom translated literally, meaning someone who possesses extraordinary abilities.