SBWE Chapter 11

416L OP:

Mr. Spade’s mother called me in. As I entered the room, Mr. Spade immediately stood up and tried to approach me, but his mother snapped, “Sit down.”

Mr. Spade reluctantly and unwillingly sat back down.

Mr. Spade’s mother said to me, “According to Mr. Spade, when his Spiritual Body vanished, your mental threads were ejected from his mental barrier.”

I nodded.

Mr. Spade’s mother… Ugh, this title is too cumbersome. From now on, I’ll just call her Madam Peach.

Madam Peach: “Try it one more time. See if you can enter Mr. Spade’s mental barrier.”

Ever since I entered the room, Mr. Spade’s eyes had been fixed on me. As I moved behind him, he tried to turn his head to follow my movements, but Madam Peach sharply rapped him on the head. “Behave yourself! You caused all this trouble.”

Mr. Spade looked like a wilted little cabbage.

I placed my fingers on Mr. Spade’s temple. Mr. Spade seemed very nervous, his hands clenched tightly.

I didn’t know what he was nervous about, but I knew I couldn’t penetrate a Sentinel’s mental barrier when they were stressed. So I asked Madam Peach if we could try alone.

Madam Peach told me, “You spoil him too much. He takes advantage of his early awakening and knowing a few tricks, acting recklessly and causing trouble without knowing his limits.”

I don’t think I spoil him. To be honest, I’m currently in a phase of insecurity. Apart from my parents, Mr. Spade is the person I’m most familiar with. Now that the fear of my Spiritual Body disappearing has subsided, being by his side actually makes me feel the most at ease.

Madam Peach led us to another room similar to the isolation chamber, but this one had a door separating the outer and inner rooms. “This room is soundproof. I’ll stay in the outer compartment and keep watch. If anything happens, just turn and signal to me, and I’ll come in immediately.”

Mr. Spade and I entered the inner room. Even though I knew Madam Peach couldn’t hear us, I still felt a bit awkward.

Mr. Spade whispered, “I’m sorry.”

While they were talking, I had been thinking a lot, one question after another came to mind. I decided to start a conversation to help Mr. Spade relax. Softening my tone, I asked, “Why didn’t you call me to help you cleanse your mental black spot after the fight, even though you knew it had reached a level requiring soothing?”

Mr. Spade froze.

I gently massaged his temple with my fingers. “I don’t blame you for what happened with my Spiritual Body disappearing, but you need to answer my questions honestly. You know, if you had just told me your mental black spot level needed soothing, I would have made time to come, no matter what.”

Mr. Spade’s usual arrogance had vanished without a trace. “Because I didn’t want you to know I fought with Mr. Club.”

I asked: “Did you lose?”

This question seemed to hit Mr. Spade’s nerve[mfn]高潮點 (gāo cháo diǎn): lit. climax point; (oceanography) high tide; high water; (figuratively) major development; climax; (figuratively, narratology) climax; turning point; (Northern Wu) beginning of an event; (figuratively) orgasm; upsurge.[/mfn]. He immediately retorted, “No!”

I asked: “If you didn’t, then why didn’t you want me to know?”

Mr. Spade grumbled and refused to answer.

I changed the subject. “How did you feel when you woke up? Why were you still so agitated even after Madam Peach had already given you a soothing session?”

Mr. Spade pulled my hand down. “Annoyed, guilty, resentful.”

I took the opportunity to squat beside Mr. Spade’s chair and asked softly, “Are you annoyed because your Spiritual Body disappeared? Don’t worry, it’s still there—just hiding temporarily. We simply can’t find it right now.”

Mr. Spade let out an ‘Mm’.

I asked: “Is the guilt because of me?”

Mr. Spade lowered his gaze to meet mine. The fluorescent light cast half-lit shadows across his face. He had shed his usual arrogance and domineering demeanor, his lowered eyes and restraining hand giving him a rare, docile air.

Mr. Spade replied with another ‘Mm’.

I coaxed him: “If I become an ordinary person, you have to take responsibility for supporting me.”
Mr. Spade hesitated.

I pretended to be angry: “My appetite is only one-third of yours! And now I might become an ordinary person, and to get a high-paying job for an ordinary person, I’d have to start studying from scratch. I don’t want to study anymore. If I can’t even get food, you wouldn’t even be willing to support me!”

Mr. Spade immediately replied, “Fine, fine, fine. I’ll support you! I’ll take you anywhere you want to eat.”

I was satisfied. “That’s more like it. There’s just one last thing. Why are you resentful?”

Mr. Spade became a silent gourd again.

I quietly extended mental threads to probe the surface of his mental barrier.

I said: “Forget it, I’m too lazy to know. But you have to compensate me.”

Mr. Spade: “Okay.”

I: “I want to eat spicy crayfish[mfn]小龍蝦 (xiǎo lóng xiā): Crayfish are eaten all over the world. Like other edible crustaceans, only a small portion of the body of a crayfish is edible. The culinary popularity of crayfish swept across mainland China in the late 1990s. Crayfish is generally served with Mala flavor (a combined flavor of Sichuan pepper and hot chili) or otherwise plainly steamed whole, to be eaten with a preferred sauce. In Beijing, the ma la flavored crayfish (麻辣小龍蝦) is shortened to “ma xiao” (麻小) and is often enjoyed with beer in a hot mid-summer evening. More information: Link.
[/mfn].”

Mr. Spade: “I’ll take you to eat it.”

I: “I don’t want to peel them.”

Mr. Spade: “I’ll peel them.”

I: “I also want that pomelo wine[mfn]Pomelo wine 柚子酒 (yòu zi jiǔ)
[/mfn] you brought me last time.”

Mr. Spade looked troubled: “Now is not the season to drink pomelo wine.”

My mental threads slipped past the surface of his mental barrier.

I said: “I don’t care. The spicy crayfish is too spicy, and I can’t eat them without drinking.”

Mr. Spade pulled me up and tilted his head to ask, “How about I find you watermelon wine[mfn]Watermelon wine 西瓜酒 (xī guā jiǔ)
[/mfn] instead?”

I was about to continue my act of being unreasonable, but then I realized I’d never tried watermelon wine before. So I agreed.

I added: “There’s a jade carving exhibition during the first three days of next month.”

Mr. Spade immediately replied, “I’ll clear my schedule to accompany you.”

Seeing Mr. Spade’s relaxed demeanor, I seized the opportunity and swiftly breached his mental barrier, his mental world unfolding before me.

Each Sentinel’s mental world is vastly different. Some possess expansive mental landscapes, like endless mountain ranges or boundless seas, while others have confined mental spaces, no larger than a three-square-foot room. Yet all share the Sea of Consciousness overhead—a dense, tangled web of mental threads interwoven with mental black spots.

I had visited Mr. Spade’s mental world countless times, but due to its deeply personal nature, I won’t describe it in detail. Madam Peach had already helped Mr. Spade soothe his mental black spots, so I didn’t see any large ones when I looked up.

Mr. Spade asked: “Where would you like to live in the future?”

Since my attention was mostly focused on his mental world, I didn’t pay much attention to his words: “Up to you.”

Mr. Spade added: “The west of the city has lots of good food, and the south of the city has lots of exhibitions. I happen to have a house in the southwest part of the city. Not very big—just two bedrooms and one living room. What do you think?”

I casually cleared the newly formed mental black spot on Mr. Spade. “Quite good.”

Mr. Spade grew increasingly cheerful as he spoke. “You said last time there was a dessert shop in the west of the city that has a unique sweet-scented osmanthus taro dessert[mfn]Sweet-scented Osmanthus Taro Dessert 桂花芋泥甜點 (guì huā yù ní tián diǎn)
[/mfn] that’s very delicious. When will you take me to try it?”

I carefully scanned his mental world, finding no abnormalities. As I prepared to leave, my peripheral vision caught a massive mental black spot lingering in the darkest corner of his Sea of Consciousness, untouched. I focused my energy, extending mental threads, but before I could even touch that dark spot, I was violently ejected.

Mr. Spade’s words abruptly ceased.

I hadn’t expected to be ejected by Mr. Spade at the last moment: “How about… I try again?”

I saw Mr. Spade’s face suddenly tensed. I immediately glanced at Madam Peach on the other side of the glass. Madam Peach burst in, “You brat! What have you done now?”

Mr. Spade pressed me into a chair. “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

I was bewildered. “No, I’m perfectly fine.”

Madam Peach expertly lifted my eyelids and shone a flashlight into my eyes. “Any dizziness, nausea, exhaustion, or other symptoms?”

I felt like a puppet as Madam Peach swiftly examined me. I said: “Nothing.” I tried to ask Madam Peach about the mental black spot. “Madam Peach, did you see a rather large mental black spot in the darkest depths of Mr. Spade’s Sea of Consciousness?”

Madam Peach placed her hand on my forehead. “No fever. No.”

I stopped Mr. Spade from trying to pick me up. “I’m fine. No need to send me for a checkup. I saw it in his Sea of Consciousness just now. Should I go back in and help him soothe it away?”

Though I addressed the question to Madam Peach, Mr. Spade immediately interjected, “No!”

I looked at him. Mr. Spade said: “If you could soothe it away, why were you suddenly ejected from my mental world? And why are you so pale now?”

Madam Peach said to me, “I’ll help him soothe it away. You rest first.”

However, Madam Peach didn’t see the mental black spot I described.

Unconvinced, I insisted on trying again.

Madam Peach stopped me. “There’s no rush. His mental black spot level has already dropped to E anyway. It doesn’t matter if one spot linger there. You should rest properly first.”

[Administrator No. 3]: One-minute ban.

417L: Administrator No. 1: The OP is even calling Mr. Spade’s mother ‘Madam Peach’ now! Doesn’t that prove Madam Peach is the great Madam Shirlefs?!

418L: Administrator No. 2: Lord PLUM hasn’t appeared yet TAT. Has Lord PLUM finished punishing his little kittens for getting caught?

419L: Administrator No. 3: Aaaah! This ban was forced upon me by those two using my years-long collection of rare, explicit smut as blackmail! This action has nothing to do with me personally, nor with the Forum Management Committee!

[Administrator No. 3]: Ban lifted. Friendly reminder: spamming will result in point deductions, and excessive point deductions will lead to account suspension.

420L: So sweet! So sweet! So sweet! So sweet!

421L: Why the ban?!

422L: Requesting ban lift!

423L: Huh? I finally got my comment through.

424L: The administrator is abusing their power for personal gain[mfn]夾帶私貨 (jiā dài sī huò): lit. smuggling in personal agendas; inserting personal agendas. This phrase refers to the phenomenon of embedding personal stances or group demands into the translation process, causing the translation to deviate from the original intent.[/mfn]!

425L: A brilliant explanation! Any married woman can be addressed as ‘Madam’, okay? The OP’s use of ‘Madam Peach’ is perfectly reasonable.

426L: Gossip Forum reporting in! Here to pay my respects to our Lord PLUM!

[Administrator No. 2]: Reminder: spamming is prohibited.

427L: First time seeing an administrator use their personal account instead of the official work account. They’re actually log in under their own account!

428L: Fans of the Goddess and PLUM, ah…

429L: Has this already spread to the gossip forum next door?

430L: Hugs to Administrator No. 3.

431L: I’ve filed a complaint with the Sentinel-Guide Discussion Forum about the administrator abusing their power for personal gain.

432L: It’s useless, upstairs. I suggest you read an article titled 《The Moderator and the Administrator: The Untold Story》 in the gossip section next door…

433L: Hehe

434L: …Damn it

435L: We can’t spam to our heart’s content anymore T_T

436L: Actually, we weren’t supposed to spam anyway. Spamming would get our posts deleted.

437L: We should take full advantage of the administrator’s presence. So, Sir Administrator, can you track down the OP’s location?

438L: I bet three Card Time Coins: the Imperial Capital.

429L: Three Card Time Coins? How poor.

430L: I bet five hundred Card Time Coins: the Imperial Capital.

431L: According to my friend in the journalist department, Madam Shirlefs’ scheduled return to the Imperial Capital next Tuesday was abruptly changed. She flew back overnight last night.

432L: Hehe.

433L: So that means…

434L: Lady Goddess above, your son is right no matter what.

435L: Based on OP’s description, Lady Goddess is a bit different from what I imagined…

436L: *Quietly asking a question* Madam Shirlefs’ son…? Why can’t I find any information about him, even using all the major search engines?

437L: Madam Peach = Madam Shirlefs, Mr. Spade = Madam Shirlefs’ son.

438L: Then the question is: are there any friends working at the National Guide Research Center here? Ahhh! Even a janitor would do!

[Administrator No. 3]: I lost rock-paper-scissors and was forced to show up. Imperial Capital. Please don’t report me.

439L: Am I the only one focused on the fact that Mr. Spade actually opened his mental world to OP? It seems OP and Mr. Spade’s relationship is truly not just so-so…

440L: Hugs for the pitiful Administrator No. 3.

441L: They’re childhood friends. What’s wrong with Mr. Spade opening his mental world to OP? They have at least a decade of friendship…

442L: I flipped to the first page, and the OP also described directly entering Mr. Spade’s mental world.

443L: What’s the problem? Ordinary people don’t understand.

444L: When a Guide performs mental soothing, first break through the mental barrier and then enter the Sea of Consciousness, because mental black spots only exist within the Sea of Consciousness. The mental world is a very private space, and how much of it is revealed depends on whether the Sentinel is willing to open it to the Guide providing treatment. Most mental soothing treatments don’t allow Guides to see the Sentinel’s mental world. Only Sentinel-Guide pairs with very close relationships will open their mental worlds, and even then, the extent of openness varies. But based on the OP’s description, Mr. Spade seems to have no defenses against the OP, his mental world completely open. This is why the OP always arrives in the mental world first after breaching the mental barrier, rather than the Sea of Consciousness.

445L: That’s just the OP’s perspective. Maybe the OP believes the mental world Mr. Spade showed him is the entirety of it. After all, the OP has seen many Sentinels’ mental worlds before—mountains, seas, little houses, and so on.

446L: OP refuses to describe Mr. Spade’s mental world. I’m so curious!

447L: Mental soothing is so boring for Guides. All you see is black and black spots, the same thing every time.

448L: Occasionally, you might glimpse a mental world, but you can only observe its surface from afar.

449L: I’m so curious about Lord PLUM‘s mental world! QAQ

450L: OP, are you sure what you saw was a mental black spot? Mental black spots are supposed to submit to a Guide’s mental threads. It’s impossible for a mental black spot to repel a Guide’s mental threads and expel them from the Sentinel’s Sea of Consciousness and mental world.

451L: It seems all of Madam Shirlefs’ family information is S-grade classified because her husband and son are both key figures in the military.

452L: Military… key figures… Three-Year-Old Spade?

453L: I feel like I’m watching a comedy skit.

454L: Three-Year-Old Spade, hahahaha! I deeply admire Madam Shirlefs, but the thought of the childish, bratty Three-Year-Old Spade being a key figure in the military just makes me want to laugh uncontrollably, hahahaha!

455L: I don’t believe it.

456L: Does anyone remember why Three-Year-Old Spade’s mental black spot rose to B+ grade?

457L: After the field exercise, he clashed with Mr. Club’s team and challenged them to a duel…

458L: …Isn’t Mr. Club… happen to be… Lord PLUM…?!

459L: You’re not alone…

460L: Holy shit! After the exercise! A duel! Against the whole team! Lord PLUM!

461L: What kind of heaven-defying combat power must he possess?!!!

462L: Truly worthy of being the Goddess’s son 233

463L OP:

Mr. Spade is indeed incredibly, incredibly, incredibly powerful.

In his first year at the Sentinel School, after learning how to use mental power offensively, his daily routine consisted of mischief and pranks. Besides playing tricks on me, he destroyed the neighbor’s artificially cultivated flowers, secretly swapped sugar and salt while cooking in other people’s kitchens, and made such antics commonplace.

He had beaten up nearly every Sentinel his age he knew, and, probably still feel unsatisfied and that he had no one left to fight, he even set up a tournament-like system. He’d have those he defeated fight each other, and the victor would then face him again.

Madam Peach and Mr. Peach tried every method they could think of, but nothing could control him.

During that time, I avoided him like the plague. To escape his daily insect harassment, I crammed three years of Sentinel-Guide curriculum into a single year and entered Guide School early.

The first year at Guide School was strictly managed, with no leave allowed to foster independence. When I finally returned home, Mr. Spade came to apologize for his wrongdoing. But seeing him, my fear had become so ingrained that I couldn’t summon my Spiritual Body.

It is said—I overheard Madam Peach chatting with my parents—that Mr. Spade had discovered my Spiritual Body would instantly retract whenever he appeared. Instead of recognizing the psychological trauma his bullying had caused, he assumed there was something wrong with my Spiritual Body and, for the first time, humbly begged Madam Peach to help me.

Madam Peach ruthlessly shattered Mr. Spade’s illusions, declaring that there was nothing wrong with my Spiritual Body—it was simply afraid of him.

For a while after that, Mr. Spade behaved as meekly as a little white rabbit, dutifully visiting my home morning and evening to bring me food—though I certainly wasn’t lacking in provisions.

But seeing how earnestly he tried to please me, I gradually lowered my guard and showed him my Spiritual Body.

Mr. Spade clutched my Spiritual Body tightly, refusing to let go, while his snake could only huddle dejectedly in a corner.

Mr. Spade explained to me that he was afraid the snake would frighten the bird.

—As if it were the snake’s fault! A Spiritual Body is a reflection of its host.

The snake, once described as coiling up like a mosquito coil, had grown considerably. Now, when coiled, it could serve as a comfortable cushion. Whenever I felt too warm, I would sit directly on the snake, finding it even cooler than a water-filled cushion.

Later, when I returned to Guide School, Mr. Spade, in order to give me a snack, scaled the wall and broke into the school. He was chased across campus by our school security. His reckless actions nearly triggered a mental breakdown in a Guide who hadn’t yet mastered their mental power. Fortunately, Madam Peach intervened in time, limiting his punishment to a severe reprimand.

Unbelievable! Just from one idiom; apologize for his wrongdoing, which is 負荊請罪 in Chinese, I found 3 more (Okay, I suppose 2 of the 3 idioms is a synonym to each other, so 2 more) idioms and 1 proverb. The other 3 idioms: 刎頸之交, 兩虎共鬥, and 兩虎相鬥. And the proverb: 兩虎相鬥，其勢不俱生[mfn]兩虎相鬥，其勢不俱生 (liǎng hǔ xiāng dòu, qí shì bù jù shēng): when two tigers fight, neither will survive; when two tigers fight, one will surely be injured. This phrase is an ancient Chinese proverb. Literally, it means that two fierce tigers cannot coexist, but it is used metaphorically to describe a situation where internal strife leads to losses for both sides. In the military field, this proverb emphasizes the importance of internal unity, arguing that internal friction weakens overall combat effectiveness. From the Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru in the Records of the Grand Historian (《史記·廉頗藺相如列傳》). 相如曰：「夫以秦王之威，而相如廷叱之，辱其群臣，相如雖駑，獨畏廉將軍哉？顧吾念之，彊秦之所以不敢加兵於趙者，徒以吾兩人在也。今兩虎共鬥，其勢不俱生。吾所以為此者，以先國家之急而後私讎也。」廉頗聞之，肉袒負荊，因賓客至藺相如門謝罪。曰：「鄙賤之人，不知將軍寬之至此也。」卒相與驩，為刎頸之交。, Xiangru said: “Even under the intimidation of the king of Qin, I scolded him in his court and humiliated his men; though I am dull, should I be afraid of General Lian? What I am keenly aware is this, that the only reason why the mighty Qin dare not threaten Zhao with war is the presence of Lian and me. We are two tigers who cannot both survive a conflict with each other. The reason why I do that [not to hold a grudge against Lian] is to put the national emergency above my personal resentment.” On hearing of that, Lian Po stripped his clothes off, bore a flogging rod, and came to Lin Xiangru’s home via a retainer to apologize, “This mean and lowly person didn’t know that you, general, is generous to this much.” Finally, they got along with each other and vowed a friendship till death.[/mfn]. If you want to read the story, you can read it here.

[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 11″]
不知天高地厚 (bù zhī tiān gāo dì hòu): lit. not know the height of the skies or the depth of the earth—not know one’s own limitations; not to know the immensity of heaven and earth; an exaggerated opinion of one’s own abilities; to think one knows everything; to be ignorant.

無論如何 (wú lùn rú hé): one way or another; whatever the case; in any event; no matter what; by all possible means; in any case; at any rate; whatever happens; come what may.

胡攪蠻纏 (hú jiǎo mán chán): to pester somebody endlessly (idiom); to be unreasonable; to plague somebody with unreasonable demands; to argue tediously and vexatiously; harass sb with unreasonable demands; unreasonable and persistent.

連綿不絕 (lián mián bù jué): to be continuous; to be unceasing; to be ceaseless; to be unending; to be uninterrupted; in an unbroken line; in sucession; without break; continuous succession; incessant; without stop.

一望無際 (yī wàng wú jì): to stretch as far as the eye can see; to stretch to the horizon; vast; boundless; endless; limitless; expansive; too vast to see the end; describes something extremely vast.

密密麻麻 (mì mi má má): densely packed; dense and numerous; numerous and close together; thickly dotted; thick; dense; cramped.

合情合理 (hé qíng hé lǐ): reasonable and fair (idiom); fair and sensible; stand to reason; fair and square; congruous/consonant with reason.

青梅竹馬 (qīng méi zhú mǎ): lit. green plums and a bamboo horse (idiom); fig. a girl and a boy playing innocently together; childhood sweethearts; a couple who grew up as childhood friends; a man and a woman who had an innocent affection for each other in childhood; from a poem by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai: 妾髮初覆額，折花門前劇。郎騎竹馬來，繞床弄青梅。同居長干里，兩小無嫌猜。十四為君婦，羞顏未嘗開。, My hair had hardly covered my forehead, I was picking flowers, playing by my door. When you, my lover, on a bamboo horse, came trotting in circles and throwing green plums. We lived near together on a lane in Ch’ang-kan, both of us young and happy-hearted. At fourteen I became your wife, so bashful that I dared not smile. […] The same poem was also the source of the idiom 兩小無猜 (liǎng xiǎo wú cāi), which has a very similar meaning.

千篇一律 (qiān piān yī lǜ): thousand articles, same rule (idiom); stereotyped and repetitive; all of the same pattern; once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all; sameness; monotony; samey; cookie cutter; follow the same pattern; a thousand pieces of the same tune; all in the same key; all of the same pattern; refers to things having only one form, being dull and lacking originality.

偷偷摸摸 (tōu tōu mō mō): surreptitious; furtive; sneaky; covertly; slinkingly; to do things secretly without letting others know.

家常便飯 (jiā cháng biàn fàn): home-cooked meal; homely food; simple home-style meal; (figuratively) common occurrence; usual practice; routine; nothing out of the ordinary; matter of daily occurrence; routine; refers to the daily meals at home, also metaphor for common things.

負荊請罪 (fù jīng qǐng zuì): lit. to bring a bramble and ask for punishment; to bring a bramble and ask for punishment (idiom); to offer someone a humble apology, requesting punishment and forgiveness; to be contrite and ask for pardon; bearing the rod and willingly taking the punishment; to carry a cane on one’s back, signifying remorse and apologizing to the person involved. It is used in situations of apology and repentance; it describes proactively admitting one’s mistakes, apologizing, and requesting severe punishment. From the Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru in the Records of the Grand Historian (《史記·廉頗藺相如列傳》). 相如曰：「夫以秦王之威，而相如廷叱之，辱其群臣，相如雖駑，獨畏廉將軍哉？顧吾念之，彊秦之所以不敢加兵於趙者，徒以吾兩人在也。今兩虎共鬥，其勢不俱生。吾所以為此者，以先國家之急而後私讎也。」廉頗聞之，肉袒負荊，因賓客至藺相如門謝罪。曰：「鄙賤之人，不知將軍寬之至此也。」卒相與驩，為刎頸之交。, Xiangru said: “Even under the intimidation of the king of Qin, I scolded him in his court and humiliated his men; though I am dull, should I be afraid of General Lian? What I am keenly aware is this, that the only reason why the mighty Qin dare not threaten Zhao with war is the presence of Lian and me. We are two tigers who cannot both survive a conflict with each other. The reason why I do that [not to hold a grudge against Lian] is to put the national emergency above my personal resentment.” On hearing of that, Lian Po stripped his clothes off, bore a flogging rod, and came to Lin Xiangru’s home via a retainer to apologize, “This mean and lowly person didn’t know that you, general, is generous to this much.” Finally, they got along with each other and vowed a friendship till death.

低聲下氣 (dī shēng xià qì): lower one’s voice and stifle one’s anger; to be meek and timid; to be submissive; soft-spoken and submissive; be grovelling/meek/subservient/obsequious; meek and subservient; speak humbly and under one’s breath; speak low and repress one’s feelings of revolt; have a servile manner; humble oneself; describe a person’s humble and submissive state in speech and attitude, often with a negative connotation.

刎頸之交 (wěn jǐng zhī jiāo): lit. friendship of decapitation; throat-slashing friends; friends sworn to death; eternal friends; best friends who can face hardships together; friends who are ready to die for each other; friend willing to die for another; lifeanddeath friendship; sworn brotherhood; deep bond of loyalty; refers to friends who can share life and death and go through thick and thin together. Figuratively, a solid friendship of no regret even if one is to be beheaded for the other, from the Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru in the Records of the Grand Historian (《史記·廉頗藺相如列傳》). 相如曰：「夫以秦王之威，而相如廷叱之，辱其群臣，相如雖駑，獨畏廉將軍哉？顧吾念之，彊秦之所以不敢加兵於趙者，徒以吾兩人在也。今兩虎共鬥，其勢不俱生。吾所以為此者，以先國家之急而後私讎也。」廉頗聞之，肉袒負荊，因賓客至藺相如門謝罪。曰：「鄙賤之人，不知將軍寬之至此也。」卒相與驩，為刎頸之交。, Xiangru said: “Even under the intimidation of the king of Qin, I scolded him in his court and humiliated his men; though I am dull, should I be afraid of General Lian? What I am keenly aware is this, that the only reason why the mighty Qin dare not threaten Zhao with war is the presence of Lian and me. We are two tigers who cannot both survive a conflict with each other. The reason why I do that [not to hold a grudge against Lian] is to put the national emergency above my personal resentment.” On hearing of that, Lian Po stripped his clothes off, bore a flogging rod, and came to Lin Xiangru’s home via a retainer to apologize, “This mean and lowly person didn’t know that you, general, is generous to this much.” Finally, they got along with each other and vowed a friendship till death.

兩虎共鬥 (liǎng hǔ gòng dòu): two tigers fighting each other; two men fight each other; describe two strong people fighting each other, which often results in both of them being injured. From the Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru in the Records of the Grand Historian (《史記·廉頗藺相如列傳》). 相如曰：「夫以秦王之威，而相如廷叱之，辱其群臣，相如雖駑，獨畏廉將軍哉？顧吾念之，彊秦之所以不敢加兵於趙者，徒以吾兩人在也。今兩虎共鬥，其勢不俱生。吾所以為此者，以先國家之急而後私讎也。」廉頗聞之，肉袒負荊，因賓客至藺相如門謝罪。曰：「鄙賤之人，不知將軍寬之至此也。」卒相與驩，為刎頸之交。, Xiangru said: “Even under the intimidation of the king of Qin, I scolded him in his court and humiliated his men; though I am dull, should I be afraid of General Lian? What I am keenly aware is this, that the only reason why the mighty Qin dare not threaten Zhao with war is the presence of Lian and me. We are two tigers who cannot both survive a conflict with each other. The reason why I do that [not to hold a grudge against Lian] is to put the national emergency above my personal resentment.” On hearing of that, Lian Po stripped his clothes off, bore a flogging rod, and came to Lin Xiangru’s home via a retainer to apologize, “This mean and lowly person didn’t know that you, general, is generous to this much.” Finally, they got along with each other and vowed a friendship till death.

兩虎相鬥 (liǎng hǔ xiāng dòu): when two tigers fight, one is bound to get hurt; two tigers fight (idiom); fig. a dispute between two powerful adversaries; a battle of the giants; a clash of the titans; a fierce struggle between two strong opponents; a deadly conflict between two powerful rivals; a metaphor for a struggle between two powerful individuals. Synonym to 兩虎共鬥 (liǎng hǔ gòng dòu), two tigers fighting each other; two men fight each other; describe two strong people fighting each other, which often results in both of them being injured. From the Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru in the Records of the Grand Historian (《史記·廉頗藺相如列傳》). 相如曰：「夫以秦王之威，而相如廷叱之，辱其群臣，相如雖駑，獨畏廉將軍哉？顧吾念之，彊秦之所以不敢加兵於趙者，徒以吾兩人在也。今兩虎共鬥，其勢不俱生。吾所以為此者，以先國家之急而後私讎也。」廉頗聞之，肉袒負荊，因賓客至藺相如門謝罪。曰：「鄙賤之人，不知將軍寬之至此也。」卒相與驩，為刎頸之交。, Xiangru said: “Even under the intimidation of the king of Qin, I scolded him in his court and humiliated his men; though I am dull, should I be afraid of General Lian? What I am keenly aware is this, that the only reason why the mighty Qin dare not threaten Zhao with war is the presence of Lian and me. We are two tigers who cannot both survive a conflict with each other. The reason why I do that [not to hold a grudge against Lian] is to put the national emergency above my personal resentment.” On hearing of that, Lian Po stripped his clothes off, bore a flogging rod, and came to Lin Xiangru’s home via a retainer to apologize, “This mean and lowly person didn’t know that you, general, is generous to this much.” Finally, they got along with each other and vowed a friendship till death.
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