Faraway Wanderers - Chapter 48

Wherein WKX toes the line. I think everything up to now was pretty much WKX being a prat, but this is the chapter he gets real.

Thank Emma P for proofreading! This one needed a lot of rework to be kinda passable.

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Notes

1. 子之矛攻子之盾 expression from Nan Yi by Han Feizi. Translated literally.

2. People cough up/spit out blood a lot in Chinese wuxia/dramaland. It's the universal sign that "something is seriously wrong" independently of medical realism.

3. 以不变应万变 lit. "cope with shifting events by not moving".

4. Ye Baiyi is said to "not be a vegetarian". Refers to Buddhist monks who are vegetarian because all living creatures are sacred. By extension, "not being a vegetarian" means that someone isn't a believer in being kind to all living things.

A misc note on "gentlemen" and "scumbags".

Through the story, ZZS and WKX are often referred to as not exactly "gentlemen". The latter term is a translation of the expression "君子" (lit. "noble's son", variably rendered as "nobleman" or "superior person") from Confucian teachings.

A 君子 is a man (and specifically a man because for Confucius women don't exist) who acts accordingly to Confucian ideals and is therefore a superior human being. It is contrasted with the expression 小人 (lit "small person") who do not follow Confucian principles and is therefore despicable.

ZZS and WKX both often use the term "gentleman" to jeer at each other on how far they are from being one. They also use terms that are peripheral to the concept of "small person", either to refers to people they don't like or in their bickering.

Although "small person" isn't vulgar, it's a pretty strong insult. And if used non sardonically referring to someone as a "gentleman" is high praise.

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