Headnotes: (If you use a new tab to read the chapter, then it’s pretty easy to switch to see the notes)
[1] 内功: probably most people who have watched wuxia know this but it is cultivating inner energies so the people is more fit and can perform inhuman feats.
[2] 黑线(Black line): originated in manga, used when people see something ridiculous/weird or when they are in a depression. It is usually easy to tell which meaning applies depending on the context.
[3] 药师: the literal definition is pharmacist. In the QQ MMPORG, the 药师 is more like a cleric/priest but in Dreams of Jianghu, Wei Wei never directly heals anyone but does go and search for herbs, so pharmacist (as someone who makes medicine) fits better
[4] 古琴: stringed instrument similar to the guzheng. Usually 5-7 strings. Some people translate it to a Chinese lute.
[5] 一笑奈何: 一笑(smile)奈何(Cope With) is the literal meaning. A/N: However, the name makes more sense if the words are arranged differently but that comes later in the story. At the moment, you can see just how lazy Gu Man was in creating her novel t.i.tles and how she makes it seamless. 微微 一笑 (很倾城)
[6] 大神: usually used to refer/speak to famous people by their fans. Literally Big G.o.d.
[7] 久仰了: honorific, the meaning is literally “I have admired you for a very long time.” Backhanded compliment saying that the person is famous and known by the speaker. Used to meet somebody who is usually higher in social status.
[8] Most games in China are through QQ centralizes many other services and people are identified with a number. Obviously, stealing numbers is a very profitable business sometimes.
[9] The term originally used was 一咬牙 which literally means clenching teeth. Usually, the term implies that a decision is made by somebody, and there is a degree of risk. Personally, I feel this descriptor is used when the person makes a very hard decision and there is an element of viciousness in how they carry out the decision. Clenching the fist is a bit more universally understood than grinding your teeth which is what you do when angry.
[10]月老: Shortened form of the Elder in the Moon, one responsible for weddings
[11] Here what is said is 我一笑奈何 which means I Yi Xiao Nai He. He sort of refers to himself in third person It was used to emphasize how “important” Yi Xiao Nai He was. A/N: He’s pretty arrogant, isn’t he?
Chapter Three A Marriage Proposal
Wei Wei stood awkwardly. Escaping wasn’t very brave, but standing here made her seem like a kidnapper. So Wei Wei thought quickly, lifted up her clothes, and sat down.
When players in Dreams of Jiang Hu sat down, it could be to rest, to meditate and practice neigong [1]or, like what Wei Wei was doing right now, to set up a stall and sell things.
When Wei Wei displayed the stall name – “Cheap medicine for sale”, the surrounding players couldn’t resist but hei xian.[2] Wei Wei quickly typed out her advertising slogan: “Look here, look here. New medicine from a levelled-out pharmacist,[3] 20% off!”
The moment the sentence appeared, all the players who had been around to look at the excitement started rioting.
She must be joking! Medicine from a levelled-out pharmacist isn’t ever sold at NPC stores. They rarely occur through monster drops. This was one of the kinds of good where there is demand but no supply. Even though the local server had a few levelled-out pharmacists, they only ever sold to their sect, and rarely did they ever sell their medicine to the general public. Now there is cheap high-level medicine for sale! The players around Zhu Que Bridge became excited and instantaneously rushed forward to drown the red-clothed figure.
The marriage sedan came, and the marriage sedan left at flying speed.
Curiously, the marriage sedan which had been moving at turtle speed as it approached the bridge sped up suddenly as it went over Zhu Que Bridge and in a moment, disappeared over the horizon.
Wei Wei’s medicine only took moments to sell out and the players, after realizing there was nothing exciting going on, left. The bridge, which only become popular where there was a wedding procession, resumed its habitual quietness.
Wei Wei took down her booth and prepared to leave when she suddenly saw that someone at the end of the bridge was calling her.
“Lu Wei Wei Wei.”
Wei Wei looked over at the player.
Beside the river sh.o.r.e, there was a willow tree. That person just stood there, underneath the branches swaying due to the gentle wind. The white-clothed man sat underneath the willow tree holding a guxin,[4] his floating sleeves adding an aura of otherworldliness.
Wei Wei stared with her eyes wide open in shock.
Wei Wei’s shock wasn’t due to the fact that the white-clothed man looked very handsome. Of course, he looked very handsome, but the white-clothed musician avatar wasn’t all that rare in the game, so after a while, everybody became immune.
Her shock was because of the player’s name.
Yi Xiao Nai He. [5]
The server’s number one player Yi Xiao Nai He.
In this game, when a person is labelled the number one player, it isn’t just because their level is high. He must have great equipment, must be strong at PK, must be precise in his control and most importantly, must be rich.
So when Lu Wei Wei Wei met Yi Xiao Ne He for the first time, one of her eyes uncontrollably turned to hearts while the other sprouted money signs.
Da Shen-a![6]
Idol-a!
Rich Person-a!
Wei Wei ran down the bridge and sent a smiley face: “Nai He Xiong, I’ve long looked forward to meet you, you called?”[7]
Yi Xiao Nai He gave an “en” and then a system pop-up appeared: Yi Xiao Nai He wants to be friends.
Wei Wei hurried clicked yes and reciprocated with her own request. It was hard to become friends with Yi Xiao Nai He. Most of the top players usually shut down their friend requests year round. When Wei Wei added too many people sometimes, she would also shut down.
Yi Xiao Nai He sent a message over after a moment: “How do you feel about that wedding?”
Wei Wei jiong. Did Da Shen also come to gossip? Wei Wei replied diplomatically: “Very large.”
Yi Xiao Nai He: “Do you want a bigger wedding?”
Wei Wei short-circuited
Yi Xiao Nai He: “ Get married to me.”
Wei Wei felt that it was very fortunate that she wasn’t drinking water today. Otherwise, her monitor would have been sprayed again. Wei Wei cautiously moved the tea cup next to her hand a bit further away and looked back to the screen.
On the screen, Yi Xiao Nai He’s avatar still stood quietly under the willow tree with ease and elegance. Wei Wei stared for a few moments and sent over: “Da Shen … … Did your number get stolen? = =” [8]
Yi Xiao Nai He apparently did not share Wei Wei’s sense of humour, and sent a hard to come by “silent” expression: “You probably haven’t seen the latest news from the game website, the one about the husband-and-wife PK tournament.”
Wei Wei: “Wait, I’ll go look.”
Wei Wei opened the main game website and saw “Couples PK tournament” in big words on top of the main page. Scrolling quickly, she got a general understanding. Couples PK tournament, true to the name, was a tournament with couples fighting as a team. The partic.i.p.ating couples first competed in their own server and the top three couples would receive prizes. After that, the top couple in each server would compete with other top couples from other servers. The top three from those fights would receive super prizes. The top prize was enough to make the already rich Wei Wei drool.
Wei Wei: “You want to get married to me for this PK tournament?”
Yi Xiao Nai He; “En.”
Wei Wei: “*sweats*, why me?”
Yi Xiao Nai He apparently does not waste words “You are the only female player in the top ten PK rankings.”
Wei Wei was somewhat persuaded. Mr. Nai He was very strong: number one on the PK rankings; number one on the wealth rankings; and his weapons and pet were all G.o.d level. If they teamed up, there was at least a 50% chance they would be first on their server. But her first wedding had already been for a quest, was her second to be for a PK tournament?
Wei Wei couldn’t help but hei xian.
But coming back to the main issue, if it wasn’t for a quest and wasn’t for a PK tournament, why would she ever want to get married to a stranger? And the prizes were so good … …
Wei Wei clenched her fist: “Let’s get married!”[9]
Since the decision has been made, Wei Wei felt very free, “Let’s go, we’ll make a team and head for Yue Lao’s.”[10]
“Wait.”
“What?” Could it be that she answered too easily and Mr. Nai He just got scared off. － －
But things were not what Wei Wei though they were as Yi Xiao Nai He said: “I need to prepare for a bit, three days later, 8 o’clock.”
Wei Wei blanked, and then quickly typed: “Prepare what?”
“The wedding.”
Wei Wei: “Just an acknowledgement ceremony is good enough. We are just getting married for the tournament, there’s no need to make it too big.”
Yi Xiao Nai He: “That won’t do. My wedding cannot be just a regular one.” [11]
Wei Wei: “… …”