"It is written in the Buddhist Canon..." "The flag is still." "The wind is calm." "It is the heart of man that is in turmoil." "ASHES OF TIME REDUX lt is the year of a total eclipse." "Drought sweeps the land." "Drought means problems." "Problems mean good business." "I'm from White Camel Mountain." "My name is Ouyang Feng." "I specialize in solving problems." "By the looks of you, I'd say you're about forty." "In those forty years... there must be people you wish you had never laid eyes on." "Maybe they hurt you." "Maybe you even considered... killing them." "But you didn't have the nerve... or couldn't be bothered." "actually killing is no big deal." "Now I have a friend who knows some martial arts." "He's a little down on his luck these days." "For a small fee, he'II be happy to rid you of that person." "Think about it." "Actually, killing isn't easy." "But to survive, it's a risk many are willing to take." "After leaving White Camel Mountain... I travelled to this desert... to start a new life." "JINGZHE SPRING AWAKENS lt's the 6th day of the 2nd lunar month." "The insects are awakening." "Every year around this time, a friend comes to visit." "His name is Huang Yaoshi." "He's a strange man." "He always appears from the East." "It's a routine he's kept up for years." "This time he came to deliver a gift." "Someone I met recently... gave me this bottle of wine." "She said this wine is magic." "One cup and you'II forget your past." "I thought it was nonsense." "How could such a wine exist?" "She said the root of Man's problems... is memory." "Without a past... every day would be a new beginning." "WouIdn't that be great?" "The bottle was meant for you." "But you wouldn't mind sharing it... would you?" "I don't fall for this kind of nonsense." "So I didn't have a sip." "But it seemed to work." "That night, Huang began to lose his memory." "Do you remember how we met?" "I don't quite recall." "Then how did you get here?" "I don't remember." "Why are you staring at the bird cage?" "Because it looks familiar." "He got very drunk that night." "He rode off at dawn." "I don't know what was troubling him... but it probably had to do with a woman." "A month later, Huang Yaoshi turned up in the South... in the hometown of his best friend." "He visited once before for his friend's wedding." "He spent time with the couple." "One day, his friend left town suddenly." "Then Huang left too, and never returned." "May I offer you a drink?" "Just water for me." "We know each other, don't we?" "More than that." "You were once my best friend." "But not anymore." "Why are you here?" "I met someone recently... who gave me this bottle of wine." "One cup and you'II forget your past." "I tried it." "It works." "would you Iike a taste?" "Do you know the difference between water and wine?" "Wine warms the spirit." "Water only brings on a chill." "will I ever see you here again?" "No." "I once took an oath." "If I ever saw this man again, I'd kill him." "But I didn't follow through." "Because by the time we met again, I could no longer see." "So what are you, man or woman?" "I am the princess... of the great Murong clan." "You dare insult me thus?" "Don't you know I'II kill you?" "You're drunk." "Huang Yaoshi was once wild and free." "People fell for him, and often got hurt." "That night, Huang was nearly killed." "Every year there are months when no one seems to need my services." "Last year, business was slow when spring came." "For a month, I had only one customer." "I want you to kill someone." "His name is Huang Yaoshi." "He's one of the best swordsmen around." "It won't be an easy job." "Money is no object." "There's only one condition." "I decide how he dies." "I want his death to be as painful as possible." "What did he do to deserve this?" "He left my sister... for another woman." "He called himself Murong Yang, the only son of the Murong Clan." "He had met Huang Yaoshi at the Peach Blossom Grove outside Gusu City." "It was the 4th day of the 1st lunar month." "The first day of spring." "The almanac read..." ""The East wind warms."" "It's a day for new beginnings." "That night, Huang played a joke on him." "If you have a sister..." "I'II marry her." "Fine." "I'II hold you to your word." "Yet I warn you, do not break your word." "For if you do..." "I will kill you." "They arranged to meet his sister." "But Huang Yaoshi never showed." "Did my brother come to see you?" "Who's your brother?" "His name is Murong Yang." "The name rings a bell." "Did he ask you to kill a man?" "I forget." "Mark my words!" "I'II kill you if you accept his offer." "Your brother is a generous man." "I can't afford to turn him down." "Big spenders like him are scarce these days." "If you reject him...," "I'II pay you double to cover your loss." "But I do have one condition." "You must kill someone for me... my brother, Murong Yang!" "You two have an odd relationship." "You sure you hate your brother that much?" "Yes!" "He won't let me be with Huang Yaoshi." "He thinks I belong to him." "Therefore he must die." "Has my sister called upon you?" "Yes." "If you so much as covet her..." "I'II kill you." "What a caring brother." "She's the only family I have." "I must protect her." "What did she want from you?" "To kill someone for her." "Someone called Murong Yang." "Huang Yaoshi must be behind this." "With or without him, she'd do the same." "She wants to be free of you." "I'II never allow that, as long as I Iive." "You saw my brother today, didn't you?" "He told you?" "Why didn't you kill him?" "Who will pay me if I do?" "killing your brother is no sweat, because he has a weakness." "You know what that is?" "It's you." "I told him you wanted him dead just to see his reaction." "Ever think he doesn't want you to be with Huang... because he wants you for himself?" "If that's the case, how strongly does he want you?" "He wants us to be together forever." "Then he must want you very much." "I know." "But I don't want him." "I only have feelings for Huang." "He must be heartbroken." "So what?" "My sadness is unbearable." "Why should I be alone in my misery?" "I want him to know what it's like to be rejected by the one you love." "You're a cruel woman." "And if he kills himself?" "That serves him right!" "Why are you asking me all this?" "Your brother asked me a question." "It took me a Iong time to figure out the answer." "The most painful way to kill a person... is first to kill the person he loves most." "But I can't do that." "If I kill you, how would I get paid?" "Right?" "Someone's trying to kill me." "Why?" "They say I'm the woman Huang Yaoshi loves most." "Don't let them kill me." "That evening, she refused to leave." "I gave her some wine to calm her down." "A few drinks later, she fell asleep." "Where are you hiding my sister?" "What makes you think that?" "I know you're the Iast person she saw before she disappeared." "She did show up one night." "She said her life was in danger and needed to hide." "But she left afterwards." "Didn't she go home?" "My sister has offended no one." "Why would anyone want to kill her?" "She said it's because she's the woman Huang Yaoshi loves most." "Nonsense." "If Huang loves her, why did he leave her?" "Some people don't realize who they love... until they've left that person behind." "Maybe Huang's like that." "He's not." "What makes you so sure?" "Because he's in love with another woman." "People always find ways to mask their pain." "Actually, Murong Yin and Murong Yang were just two sides of one person." "Hiding behind these two identities was a wounded soul." "You're drunk, Mr. Murong." "Mister?" "You are mistaken." "I'm not Mr. Murong... but the princess of the great Murong clan." "My name is Murong Yin." "And who might you be?" "You don't remember me?" "You once promised to marry me." "How could I forget you?" "That's so?" "That day you passed through Gusu City." "We drank together in the Peach blossom Grove." "You were drunk." "You touched my face." "And you said if I had a sister... you'd marry her." "You knew I was a woman in disguise." "Why did you say that?" "A drunk man's words can't be taken seriously." "Those words have kept me waiting for you all this time." "I asked you to take me with you, but you refused." "You said your heart did not have room for two." "surely you loved Murong Yin." "How could you faII in love with another woman?" "You know I went looking for that other woman?" "When I heard rumor she was the one you loved most..." "I went to kill her." "But I couldn't go through with it... because that would only prove the rumor correct." "I've asked myself so many times... am I really the woman you love most?" "But I no Ionger want to know." "If I ever ask you this question, please lie." "No matter how your heart rebels... please tell me I'm the one you love the most." "That night passed slowly." "Probably because I seemed to be talking to 2 people at the same time." "I could no longer distinguish Murong Yin from Murong Yang." "Murong Yin?" "Murong Yang?" "tell me, who do you love the most?" "Who else but you?" "Once, a woman asked me this question." "But I didn't answer." "Speaking as Huang Yaoshi... I realized it wasn't so hard to say those words." "As I lay sleeping that night, I felt someone touch me." "I knew I wasn't the man she wanted to touch." "But just as she was imagining I was another man... I was dreaming of another woman." "Her hands were soft... like the hands of my brother's wife." "After that night, no one saw Murong Yin or Murong Yang again." "A few years later, legend spread of a strange sword master... with a mysterious past." "It's said she practiced her swordplay on her own reflection... because she could find no worthier opponent." "XIAZHI SUMMER RISES" "What do you want?" "I want to avenge my little brother." "What happened to him?" "A band of swordsmen passed by a few days ago." "My brother offended one of them." "They killed him." "ShouIdn't this be a matter for the local magistrate?" "They're in the militia." "The magistrate wouldn't dare do a thing." "How much can you pay?" "We're a poor family." "AII I've got are these eggs and my mule." "Before she died, my mom gave me this mule as my dowry." "To avenge your brother... you need money." "No one's going to take on those swordsmen for a mule." "Vengeance has a price." "If you weren't so pretty..." "I would've told you to forget it." "Don't get me wrong." "I'm not hinting at anything." "But you should know... that you're worth much more than a mule." "You understand?" "I'm not that kind of woman." "If money's all you want..." "I'II wait here... until someone else comes to help." "I'm not sure if she was just naïve... or if she really had nothing better to offer." "From up here... she looks a lot like someone I knew." "During the nights that followed, I had a recurring dream." "I dreamed of the peach blossoms in my hometown." "I suddenly realized... I hadn't been back to White Camel Mountain for many years." "Something wrong with your eyes?" "I've had bad eyesight since I was small." "The doctor said by thirty I'd be blind." "How old are you?" "almost thirty." "What brings you here?" "The peach blossoms bloom beautifully every spring in my hometown." "I want to see them once more before I go blind... but I'm almost penniless now." "They say you solve problems for people." "Can you help me?" "A friend of mine killed some bandits a few months back." "Their gang should return to avenge them soon." "My friend's gone." "The villagers are starting a collection... to hire a swordsman for protection." "I've heard of a local swordsman who's supposed to be fast." "Is he still here?" "Why do you care?" "I want to see just how fast he is." "I shouldn't have come." "It's too late now." "Let's leave it at an arm." "No." "Let's leave it at... your life!" "You misunderstood." "I shouldn't have come because you're not a worthy opponent." "I said let's leave it at your arm, but you offered up your life." "Can you help me, sir?" "Although he was a down-and-out swordsman... he lived a very disciplined life." "Everyday he'd come by for a meal and a drink... and leave at sunset." "Why do you keep staring at that girl?" "She reminds me of someone." "Your wife?" "If you miss her so much, why live life on the road?" "She's in love with my best friend." "When will those bandits get here?" "probably within the next few days." "The sooner the better." "I don't want to miss the peach blossoms." "Flowers bloom in their season." "But bandits are harder to predict." "He waited outside the village everyday." "Each day's wait lasted longer into the night." "Though he lit a lamp after sunset... I knew he couldn't see at night." "Don't you Iike me?" "You want to go home?" "Yes." "Are you married?" "Why?" "I bet you love your wife very much." "You could say that." "Then why did you leave her?" "would you mind treating me to another drink?" "You seem to be in a drinking mood." "I might not be able to drink again tomorrow." "My guess is they'II arrive before dawn." "I'II get you a lantern." "Don't bother." "You can't see anymore, can you?" "I can, if the sun is bright." "Pray tomorrow's a clear day." "If I don't return by sunset... please take a message to someone for me." "His name is Huang Yaoshi." "tell him a woman's waiting for him in my hometown." "I don't know why I did that." "I couldn't control myself." "As I walked away... I felt the girl's tears slowly drying on my face." "I wondered if my woman would shed any tears for me." "People say if a sword strikes fast enough... the blood spurting from the wound will sigh like a breeze." "Never had I imagined the first time I heard that sound... it would come from the spurting of my own blood." "BAILU AUTUMN TURNS" "This man is Hong Qi." "He's very quick with his saber, but he didn't like wearing shoes." "While I knew he could make me a lot of money... he always made me uneasy." "A fortune teller once warned me..." ""Avoid the number seven or anyone with the name of Qi."" "When I first met him, he was fresh from the countryside." "Do you know why I asked you over to eat?" "No." "Because I know you're hungry." "I've had my eye on you for a while." "You've been sitting by that wall all day, too weak to move." "And you don't look sick." "I've seen a Iot of young men like you." "You know a few sword moves, so you think you're invincible." "But this is a tough line of work." "Being a swordsman keeps you from doing a normal job." "Farming's beneath you." "Banditry is not honorable." "Street performing is a joke." "So how do you earn a living?" "Even the best swordsman has to eat." "I've got the perfect job for you." "The money's good and it's honorable." "What do you say?" "Yes?" "Think about it, but be quick." "As you know, your stomach will be growling again soon." "Soon after Hong Qi arrived, the bandits returned." "Before I took him to see the villagers... I bought him a pair of shoes... because there's quite a difference... between the price of a swordsman with shoes and without." "So you think ten taels of silver is too much?" "You can always find someone cheaper." "Look, there's some now." "They're not even wearing shoes." "Pay them a few bucks and they'II jump on the offer." "But how can you trust a swordsman... who can't even afford shoes?" "What if he takes a beating and tells the bandits you hired him." "Then what?" "Now, I'm not saying my friend is the best." "What I'm saying is this, when the lives of your family are at stake... don't you think, you should put your faith in someone with shoes?" "To prepare him for the job... I brought Hong Qi to see something." "Why the corpse?" "Because this corpse can talk." "Two days ago, he fought the bandits." "He thought he could take them all." "He was wrong." "See this slash?" "It was the fatal blow." "unlike the other wounds, it cut from right to left." "It's unique." "That means the guy who struck the fatal blow... only needed to strike once." "When you fight the bandits..." "look out for one person... the Ieft-handed swordsman." "If I die, don't put me on display." "I don't want to be a talking corpse." "The 1 5th day of the 6th lunar month." "It was sunny and windy." "The almanac says, "The Star of Judgment descends."" ""Blood will flow." "Do not travel far."" ""Chant scriptures to prevent catastrophe."" "Those who don't bother counting their money... will soon lose it all." "Not Hong Qi." "He counted every cent." "This type of person won't stay long." "The 10th day of the 7th lunar month." "The first day of autumn." "Sunny." "The almanac says, "The breeze cools." "Auspicious for visiting friends."" ""Do not christen new boats."" "Hong Qi?" "He's gone." "I doubt he'II come back." "You should look elsewhere." "You hear me?" "Fooling a woman is never as easy as you think." "She might seem simple... but she understood her husband well." "Because Hong Qi would never abandon his camel." "I told you to wait at home." "Why are you following me?" "Go home!" "Go!" "No!" "Go home!" "Go!" "Go home!" "Go!" "Get going!" "Move!" "She's been waiting outside for days now." "She doesn't listen." "What can I do?" "How can I be a swordsman with a wife in town?" "Who says you can't?" "Where there's a will, there's a way." "I was once like you." "My head was filled with thoughts of glory." "So I Ieft my woman at home." "When I returned, I discovered... that my woman had married my brother." "It's pointless to come here everyday." "I can't help you if you haven't got any money." "Go home." "I'm begging you." "Begging won't help." "I'm just a middleman." "The only person that can help you is yourself." "Everyone needs something to live for." "Others may think it's a waste of time, but it was important to her." "The 1 5th day of the 7th lunar month." "Rain." "According to the almanac, "The Rain Star brings trouble."" ""The Star of Talent presides."" ""Time to cleanse." "Avoid leaving home."" ""Malignance in the north."" "If I were those swordsmen from the militia... I would have refused to die." "All those lives were lost merely for an egg." "You gained an egg, but lost a finger." "Was it worth it?" "No." "But I felt alive." "I was myself again." "This should have been no sweat." "But I've lost my speed." "I was quick because I never hesitated." "If it felt right, I'd do it." "I never cared about the money." "I thought I'd always be that way." "Then that girl asked me for help... and I knew I was a changed man." "I turned her down... because I knew you would." "I hated myself for it." "I confused myself with you." "I'd lost my real self." "I don't want to be like you... because I know you'd never ever risk your life for an egg." "That's the difference between us." "please help Hong Qi!" "He's hurt bad, isn't he?" "please get a doctor." "A doctor?" "That costs money." "Damn shame I don't have any eggs." "Otherwise I'd lend you a few... since you're so good at manipulating people with them." "I won't help him because he didn't listen to me." "You're responsible for this." "You save him." "You come to me only because you're desperate." "I've been waiting for this moment." "You once told me you'd never sell yourself." "well, Iet's see now if you can still keep your word." "What's on your mind?" "Nothing." "Don't do anything for my sake." "If I die..." "I'II die happy." "I helped you for an egg." "I've eaten it." "You don't owe me anything." "Remember, don't do anything stupid." "From that day on, I never saw that girl again." "I don't think I can use my saber anymore." "You don't need to use a saber." "Even a look can kill." "Losing a finger will help your reputation." "You can raise your fee." "What's the matter?" "Homesick?" "If you get homesick so easily, why'd you leave in the first place?" "You ever wonder what lies beyond this desert?" "Another desert." "It's a question everyone asks at some point in life." "They see a mountain and want to know what's behind it." "I wanted to tell him... the other side may just be more of the same." "Looking back, home may not seem so bad after all." "But he'd never listen." "He was the kind of person who'd have to see for himself." "Where are you going?" "places I've never been." "With luck, I'II be famous." "If one day you hear of a nine-fingered hero... that'II be me." "And her?" "I'II take her along." "Like you said, where there's a will, there's a way." "Besides, there's no martial arts code against bringing a wife along." "Right?" "Let's go!" "I suddenly understood why they are a couple." "Because they both are true to their hearts." "As I watched them leave, I was filled with envy." "I once had this chance." "I don't know why I let it slip away." "The day they left, a southerly wind was blowing." "They chose to walk into the wind." "It was the 1 5th day of the 8th lunar month." "The almanac had this to say..." ""The Chamber Star presides." "Fortune favors the north."" "Hong Qi joined the Gang of Beggars three years later." "He became their leader and was known as the Beggar of the North." "In his later years, he dueled with Ouyang Feng on Snow Mountain... where they took each other's life." "After Hong Qi left, the rain poured nonstop." "Every time it rains, I think of her." "She once loved me." "Maybe it was just coincidence... but every time I left on a journey, it would rain." "She said it was because she was sad." "Later, she married my brother." "The day of their wedding, I left White Camel Mountain." "You can ask me today, tomorrow, whenever." "My answer will be the same." "I won't go with you." "I ask for the last time." "Will you come with me?" "I'm staying." "Remember, from now on I belong to your brother." "There's only one man who can touch me, and that's him." "No other man has that right." "LICHUN WINTER FADES" "Why are you staring at my scarf?" "It belongs to my husband." "Why do you have it?" "Is he dead?" "I hadn't seen peach blossoms in years." "So the following spring, I visited the blind swordsman's hometown." "To my surprise, I didn't find any peach blossoms." "There's no point for me to keep it anymore." "Only when I left did I understand... this place never had any peach blossoms." ""Peach Blossom" was merely the name of a woman." "As that woman wept... I suddenly realized why Huang Yaoshi came to see me every year." "He's an odd child, isn't he?" "He keeps to himself." "I'm not sure if he's arrogant or shy." "He never asks for what he wants." "He expects to be pleased." "You have to offer it to him." "At first, I indulged him." "gradually, I lost my patience." "Though I've always loved her, I've kept it a secret." "Because I know untasted fruit is the sweetest." "Every time she gazed fondly at her son... I knew she was thinking of someone else." "I envy Ouyang Feng." "I long to be loved... yet only manage to hurt others." "I always thought you two would stay together." "Why didn't you marry him?" "He never told me how much he wanted me." "Some things don't need to be said." "But it's what I needed to hear." "He was too proud to say it." "He took it for granted that I would marry him." "He never imagined I'd marry his brother." "On my wedding night, he asked me to leave with him." "But I refused." "Why did he want me only when he couldn't have me?" "If that's the way he was going to be..." "I decided I would never let him have me." "If love is a contest, I'm not sure she's the winner." "But I know for certain... I've been a loser from the start." "This woman made me love peach blossoms." "I'd see her each year when the peach blossoms bloomed." "I visited Ouyang Feng... because she wanted to know how he was doing." "Thanks to Ouyang Feng... I had an excuse to see her every year." "Do you know what's the most important thing in my Iife now?" "Your son, no doubt." "I once thought so." "But as I watch him grow day by day..." "I know someday he'II leave me." "Nothing really matters anymore." "I used to think some words were so important." "Once spoken they'd last a lifetime." "But looking back, I realized it makes no difference." "Everything changes." "I always thought I was the winner... until one day I Iooked in the mirror... and saw the face of a loser." "During the best years of my Iife... the person I Iove was not by my side." "WouIdn't it be wonderful if we could go back to the past?" "You're his good friend." "Why haven't you told him I was here?" "I made you a promise." "So I kept silent." "You're too honest." "Not long after, she fell ill and passed away." "Before she died, she gave me a bottle of wine to take to him." "She hoped Ouyang Feng would forget her." "It's said memory is the root of Man's troubles." "That year, I started to lose my memory." "Now, I only recall a vague fondness for peach blossoms." "Six years later, Huang Yaoshi retired to Peach Blossom Island... and lived as a hermit." "He called himself the Master of Peach Blossom Island." "Others knew him as the Lord of the East." "JINGZHE SPRING RETURNS" "Spring begins." "The insects will soon awaken." "Every year around this time, a friend comes to visit." "But this year he didn't show." "Shortly afterwards, I received a letter from White Camel Mountain." "It said my brother's wife had died two winters ago." "I knew Huang Yaoshi wouldn't come again." "Yet still I waited." "For two days and two nights, I sat at my door." "Watching the shifting clouds, I realized... though I lived here a long time... I'd never really looked at the desert." "Before, when I saw a mountain I wanted to know what lay behind." "But not anymore." "Fate made me an orphan." "My parents died young." "My brother raised me." "Being an orphan, I always had to fend for myself." "I learned the best way to avoid rejection... is to reject others first." "This is why I've never returned home." "It wasn't bad there." "But what have I to go back for?" "I was born under the influence of a total eclipse." "Love was destined to be out of reach." "That night, I suddenly needed a drink." "I finished the bottle of magic wine." "I carried on with business as usual." "By the looks of you, I'd say you're about forty." "In those forty years... there must be people you wish you had never laid eyes on." "Maybe they hurt you." "Maybe you even considered killing them." "But you didn't have the nerve." "actually killing is no big deal." "No sweat at all." "Now I have a friend who knows some martial arts." "He's a little down on his luck these days." "For a small fee, he'II be happy to rid you of that person." "Think about it." "But be quick." "If you wait..." "When work was not busy, I'd look in the direction of White Camel Mountain." "I remembered a woman was waiting for me there." "That magic wine was just a joke she played on me." "The more you try to forget, the better you'll remember." "People say... when you can't have what you want, the best you can do... is not to forget." "I don't know why I have these recurring dreams." "I left the desert soon afterwards." "The day I left, the almanac had this to say..." ""The Travel Star advances;" "Fire Conquers Gold." "Fortune lies West."" "Ouyang Feng returned to White Camel Mountain the following year." "He became known as the Lord of the West."