Free Web NovelChapter 214: Chapter 188: Old Acquaintances, Contacting the Organization
Step 1: Contextual Analysis
Literary genre: This appears to be a Chinese cultivation/martial arts (wuxia or xianxia) web novel, featuring martial artists and cultivation elements like pills and special abilities.
Language style: The narrative style is relatively straightforward with some descriptive elements, dialogue-heavy in parts, and includes common wuxia genre conventions.
Tone: Serious but not overly formal. There’s a sense of urgency and tension due to a city under attack by bandits, but also moments of compassion and kindness.
Plot keywords: martial artists, bandit invasion, healing, city under siege, organization of resistance, cultivation, medicine
Characters:
- Wu Liangchen (武良辰): Male protagonist, a former cart puller who has become a powerful martial artist. Now trying to organize resistance against invaders.
- Sister Hu (胡姐): Female, a sick woman who used to help Wu Liangchen when he was just a cart puller. Currently very ill.
- Xiaokang (小康): Male, Sister Hu’s nephew who stayed to take care of her despite danger.
- Third Master Liu and Third Granny (刘三爷 and 三奶奶): Elderly couple living in the same compound as Wu Liangchen.
- Pang Hao (庞豪): Male, referred to as Senior Brother Pang, seems to be part of the local martial artists.
- Liu Liu (刘鎏): Male, someone Wu Liangchen killed earlier (mentioned but not present in this Chapter).
Step 2: Integrated Translation and Polishing
Let me begin the translation, implementing all the guidelines and paying special attention to glossary terms.
[translating paragraph by paragraph...]
I notice there’s a reference to "百里青云山" which I’ll consistently translate as "Cyan Cloud Mountain" per the glossary.
There’s mention of specific medicines like "血气丹" (Blood Qi Pill) and "金疮药" (Golden Wound Medicine) which I’ll maintain according to the glossary.
Step 3: Final Sanitization and Logic Pass
I’ve completed the translation and verified that:
1. All glossary terms have been properly translated
2. No Chinese characters or pinyin remain in the text
3. The structure mirrors the original with appropriate paragraph breaks
4. The dialogue flows naturally
5. There are no logical inconsistencies in the text
Here is the final translation:
Since they were acquaintances, it was only natural to help if possible.
The servant’s spirits lifted at these words, for in his mind, Wu Liangchen had already become a legendary figure. With his help, his aunt would surely be saved.
"She’s right here, please follow me!"
With these words, the limping servant led Wu Liangchen to a house in the corner of the market.
Though the door was boarded up, the servant felt along the edge for a moment before removing two boards, revealing the entrance.
Wu Liangchen then walked inside.
The room was dark and permeated with a stale odor.
"COUGH COUGH COUGH Who is it?" A fit of coughing came from the inner room, followed by a weak voice.
"Auntie, it’s me!" the servant immediately replied, then secured the door boards, lit a candle, and headed toward the inner room.
The inner room was even darker, and on the bed against the wall, a figure could faintly be seen lying there.
"Auntie, are you feeling any better?" the servant asked.
"Same as before. Did you find a doctor?" Sister Hu said, struggling to lift her head. When she did, she spotted Wu Liangchen standing behind the servant.
She was startled at first, then disbelief spread across her face.
"You..."
The servant exclaimed excitedly, "Auntie, isn’t this the Master Wu you’ve been talking about? If not for him today, I might not have made it back."
As he spoke, the servant recounted what had happened that day, and only then did Sister Hu notice the numerous wounds on his body, filling her with distress.
At the same time, Wu Liangchen’s arrival both surprised and delighted her, so she forced herself to sit up.
"Master... Master Wu, what brings you here?" Sister Hu asked after a moment’s hesitation.
"I happened to meet him, heard you were ill, so I came to see you."
Looking at Sister Hu—now emaciated and completely different from the rosy-cheeked, robust woman he remembered—Wu Liangchen couldn’t help but feel emotional.
He hadn’t expected that in just over a year, circumstances could change so drastically.
"Thank you for saving him, Master Wu. If not for you, Xiaokang wouldn’t have made it back," Sister Hu said with heartfelt gratitude.
Her husband had died early, and she had no children of her own—only this nephew from her maternal family by her side. The two depended entirely on each other.
Especially recently, when bandits from Cyan Cloud Mountain were about to enter the city, Sister Hu’s old illness had returned, leaving her bedridden. Yet the boy called Xiaokang refused to leave, instead resolutely staying to take care of his aunt.
Sister Hu had been deeply moved at the time.
She knew she hadn’t cared for him in vain; this nephew was reliable.
Therefore, her gratitude toward Wu Liangchen was also genuine.
"No need for thanks," Wu Liangchen smiled. "It was nothing more than a small effort on my part."
"But how is your illness?"
"It’s nothing, just an old ailment that flares up every year. After some rest, I’ll be fine, don’t worry about it," Sister Hu said.
Wu Liangchen approached her, took her wrist, and carefully began to read her pulse.
Sister Hu wanted to speak but held back, silently watching Wu Liangchen.
At this moment, she also felt quite emotional.
Not long ago, this young man had been just a small cart puller in the market.
At the time, seeing how young and thin he was, she had felt compassion and saved whatever work she could for him.
Of course, if she claimed there wasn’t a trace of ulterior motive in this, Sister Hu wouldn’t believe it herself.
But mostly it was a kind of care, like that of an older sister for her brother.
To her surprise, not long after, this handsome young man who often smiled before speaking had soared to great heights, becoming a prominent figure known throughout the city.
At that time, Sister Hu had felt both joy and a touch of melancholy.
Because she knew that she and Wu Liangchen would likely never meet again.
Yet unexpectedly, they had met today, and in such difficult circumstances for her.
After a moment, Wu Liangchen released her hand, pondered briefly, then reached into his robe to pull out a small bottle. From it, he poured out more than ten small pills that emitted a rich medicinal fragrance.
"You have consumption caused by childhood malnutrition and blood qi deficiency in adulthood. These are Blood Qi Pills. Dissolve one pill in hot water daily, and after a few days, you should see improvement."
Wu Liangchen didn’t actually know much about medicine, but after advancing in martial arts, his enhanced perception allowed him to easily discern changes in pulse strength.
And this directly related to a person’s illnesses.
Combined with Sister Hu’s emaciated appearance and pallor, he could deduce her general condition.
In truth, in this era, the illnesses of common people were easy to diagnose.
Because nearly half were related to malnutrition.
So Wu Liangchen gave Sister Hu some Blood Qi Pills to treat her illness.
"Thank you!" Sister Hu said gratefully.
Wu Liangchen simply smiled, then turned to look at Xiaokang.
Honestly, when Wu Liangchen had been pulling carts, he hadn’t found anything remarkable about Xiaokang and had even thought him somewhat verbose and lazy.
But today’s events had made Wu Liangchen see him in a new light, for not everyone would resolutely stay to care for the sick when faced with the threat of war.
So he took out another small bottle of Golden Wound Medicine and handed it to Xiaokang.
"Apply it wherever it hurts, but don’t use too much. After one night, you should be fine."
Xiaokang was so moved he nearly cried, repeatedly expressing his thanks.
"Alright, I’ll be staying in Dinghai City for some time. If there’s any emergency, you can find me in Pickled Vegetable Alley in South City."
With those words, Wu Liangchen departed gracefully.
He truly didn’t have much time to waste.
Since the people from Cyan Cloud Mountain had entered the city, the situation had become increasingly dire.
That’s why Wu Liangchen had appeared in North City and, after killing Liu Liu with one punch, begun contacting and organizing local Martial Artists.
There was no alternative—relying solely on Wu Liangchen’s strength to defeat an army of ten thousand would be too difficult.
After all, a great man once said that uniting all forces that can be united is the key to victory.
Wu Liangchen left the market, racing at extreme speed across the sky above Dinghai City.
It was now dusk, but the entire city was deathly silent. Except for occasional cries from the distance, it resembled a ghost town.
Although Wu Liangchen had killed many bandits throughout the day and even slain one of Cyan Cloud Mountain’s chiefs with a single blow.
But for such a vast city, it was still a drop in the bucket.
However, after a day of pillaging, these bandits were tired too, which is why they were resting temporarily.
Fortunately, everything seemed normal near the compound, with few signs of looting.
This wasn’t surprising, as those thugs would naturally target shops and wealthy households first. A poor, crowded compound like this, with little worth stealing, would definitely be last on their list.
Wu Liangchen landed on the compound’s roof ridge, carefully listening to the sounds below.
From within the pitch-black house, he could hear Third Master Liu and Third Granny talking.
"This world truly gives the poor no way to survive. The screams of agony haven’t stopped all day—you can imagine how beastly these bandits are," Third Master Liu said with bitter anguish.
"Enough, old man, this isn’t something you can change. Better say less."
"Ah, heaven has turned a blind eye!"
The elderly couple continued lamenting.
Wu Liangchen’s heart settled, and he returned to his temporary residence.
After a hasty dinner, Wu Liangchen went to bed.
Now he could control his sleep at will—as soon as his head touched the pillow, he fell into a deep slumber.
But even while sleeping, his vigilance never diminished; any slight disturbance would wake him instantly.
When it was nearly midnight, Wu Liangchen awoke as if he had set an alarm.
He got up, made some quick preparations, and headed straight for the West Garden theater.
Meanwhile, inside the West Garden theater, shadows moved about.
Almost all the local Martial Artists who had remained in the city had gathered.
Now they waited, anxious yet excited.
"Senior Brother Pang, do you think Master Wu will come?" someone asked.
"Of course he will!" Pang Hao replied without hesitation.
