Not unworthy, this Sanniang surnamed Bao. "

But she had affronted the young Hua Guan Suo.

"You're not worth the tip of my boot or the heel of my foot.

I could kill you with a single thrust of my spear,

But it would be a pity to harm such a flower-like body."

When the two of them had fought for a long time,

Sanniang surnamed Bao was losing.

He was about to catch up to Sanniang when

He made a circle and came all the way around.

See Sanniang, Mistress Bao:

At her waist a weapon that is always by her side.

She took out the flying claws and gripped them in her hand,

Looking closely at Hua Guan Suo.

Guan Suo with iron-womb bow in hand

Fitted a wolf-tooth arrow to the string.

Sanniang let fly her golden claws, and

They headed straight for Hua Guan Suo.

His left hand held the bow grip;

His right hand drew the bowstring and he took aim.

Sanniang vainly struck with her golden claws, for

He shot in two the rope that held them,

And they did not hit the youth General Guan Suo.

The two fought to determine the outcome while

The whole army on horseback watched the fray,

This pair of heroes fighting each other.

When they had been fighting for a long time,

Guan Suo trailed his spear and headed out of the battle formation.

Sanniang followed behind and hurried to catch him.

She was about to catch up to the man surnamed Guan when

General Guan Suo turned his head and looked.

"She has fallen eight or nine parts for my trick."

He feigned a thrust with his spear, reined in and turned his horse.

Guan Suo used his wits to try to capture the general.

Sanniang then said, "I will not chase you.

You will loose the red cotton nine strand lariat."

General Guan Suo reined in his horse.

"Foiled, the baggage saw through my trick!" Prose Guan Suo said, "Why don't you come and chase me?" Bao Sanniang said, "I know you will let loose the red cotton lariat." Guan Suo said, "Neither have you lost nor have I won. I have a gold coin. Let's hang it up. On the gold coin are four characters. I will shoot four arrows onto the four characters and one in the eye of the gold coin. If I make all the shots, that means you lose." Sanniang said, "I will split your five X arrows. X X X X X X.[3] If I do not split your arrows, then I will lose." Verse Guan Suo, thus spoken to, quickly said, "Fine."

He hung the gold coin up in mid-air.

His curved bow he took up in his hand,

And picked out five string of pearl arrows.

His left hand held the bow grip;

His right hand drew the bowstring past his ear.

Handsome and hard to capture on canvas was the man grasping the arrows.

Faster than sight the sound of his bowstring;

Five arrows like a string of pearls went by.

When they looked closely at the surface of the gold coin,

There was not one character that had not been squarely hit.

Mistress Bao Sanniang felt pleased.

"I will match you with five arrows like a string of pearls."

Her left hand took up the richly decorated bow;

Her right hand took up five string of pearl arrows.

The bow pulled wide like a sinuous python in the mountains;

The arrow sprang away like a dragon from a deep pool.

Faster than sight the sound of her bowstring;

Five arrows like a string of pearls went by.

When they looked closely at the surface of the gold coin,

She had cleanly split apart the shafts of the arrows.

When Guan Suo saw this, he felt pleased.

"This woman isn't half bad."

The two of them again mounted their high-headed horses, and

For the space of three rounds they fought to prove who was better.

Guan Suo then flourished his spear.

The woman also brandished her jeweled blade.

The two again battled for thirty rounds,

But there was not the least sign whatsoever of defeat.

Guan Suo then in a loud voice called,

"Woman, do not pursue this one surnamed Guan."

Mistress Bao Sanniang already knew that

He would let loose the red cotton nine-stranded lariat again.

The woman called, "I'm not afraid of you."

She hit her horse and applied the whip and followed behind,

Catching up so close that his horse's tail was in her horse's mouth.

He turned over and slipped down on the horse and hid by the stirrup.

From his waist he took out the red cotton lariat.

He flipped up and mounted his dragon-scaled horse again.

He yelled, "Sanniang, stop trying to escape.

The red cotton lariat will show who is better."

Sanniang also took out a red cotton lariat

And hastily flung it up in mid-air.

Both were snared by red cotton lariats,

Pulled partway out of the saddles beneath them.

When Dragon-capturer Zhang saw this, he felt angry.

In the tent he took out his precious carved bow,

And fitted to the bow a metal-tipped arrow.

When it left the bowstring he called, "Fly true!"

The arrow cut apart the red cotton lariats,

Permitting Lady Bao to fall back into her saddle.

Then she was quickly grabbed by Guan Suo

And taken straight to the central army camp.

"Woman, I'm not bragging.

Today you have lost to me."

When Sanniang saw this she sang out loudly,

"General, spare me, a woman.

Do not despise me because of the ugliness of my appearance.

I am willing to be someone who makes your bed and provides your cover."

The young gentleman Guan Suo felt pleased.

Right away he went to the manor to pay his respects to his father-in-law.

Everyone returned to the imposing manor.

Bao Feng and Bao Yi came to meet them at a distance.

He met his two brothers-in-law

And in the manor he prepared to pay his respects to Bandit King Bao. Prose Sanniang went to see her father. Bandit King Bao asked, "My daughter, what of the outcome?" Sanniang reported, "I report to you, Father: I fought but couldn't beat him. He is no one else. His father is one of the five fighting tiger generals; his elder uncle is Prince Liu the First Sovereign. His younger uncle is Zhang Fei, who turned back the river. I fought over one hundred rounds with him and lost to him. I promised to unite with him as man and wife. I do not know what your feelings are, Father." Bandit King Bao said, "In the past Lian Kang's father and I promised our children in marriage. Later he begat Lian Kang and I begat you, fair daughter. He wanted to marry you last year. You said to wait again until this year. If now you want to marry Guan Suo, what would you have me say to him when he comes? Verse Old general Bandit Bao felt perplexed about

How to ward off the man from Camp Yaoling.

Sanniang said, "It needn't be a problem.

I have some good words you should hear, Father.

Since I prefer to be united to the youth Hua Guan Suo,

There is no need for that ugly-faced Lian Kang."

Bandit King Bao, thus spoken to, went along with it.

He prepared a feast in front of the hall.

Sons and daughter and relatives greeted each other.

Then he invited in Hua Guan Suo.

When Guan Suo met him, he lowered his head and bowed.

He bowed to his father-in-law Bandit King Bao.

The entire family great and small met each other.

At the head of the main hall they drank three cups.

In the middle sat Hua Guan Suo;

Below him were the many other leaders.

All came to offer congratulations to Bandit King Bao.

Each of the leaders drank three cups.

Hard on the heels of happiness came sadness.