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28马屁股一耸，韦小宝翻身跌了下来。骡车和骑马的汉子扬长而去了。茅十八纵马近前，拉住韦小宝后领，将他提上马鞍。
28 The horse’s buttocks shrugged, and Wei Xiaobao rolled over and fell down. The mule carriage and the man on horseback flew away. The Eighteenth Vertical Horse of Mao approached, grabbed Wei Xiaobao’s back collar and put him on the saddle.
29中午时分，两人在饭店吃饭，忽然涌进一伙云南平西王府的官兵。茅十八听得他们是吴三桂的手下，脸色一沉，拍桌大骂:“他妈的大汉奸吴三龟……”七八名官兵手持兵刃，冲向茅十八。韦小宝身子一缩，钻到了桌下。
At noon, when they were eating in a restaurant, a group of officers and soldiers from the Pingxi Palace in Yunnan suddenly rushed in. Hearing that they were Wu Sangui’s men, Mao Shiba’s face sank and he slapped the table and cursed: “his mother traitors Wu Sangui…” Seven or eight officers and soldiers rushed to Mao Shiba with weapons in their hands. Trinket shrank and got under the table.
30茅十八手挥单刀，和众人斗了起来。韦小宝在桌下趁机乱斩官兵小腿。眼见茅十八寡不敌众，邻桌一人从桌上筷筒中拿起一把筷子随手掷去，围攻茅十八的诸人纷纷被竹筷插中眼睛、脸颊。
30 Mao 18 waved a single knife and fought with the crowd. Wei Xiaobao took the opportunity to chop the legs of officers and soldiers under the table. Seeing that Mao 18 was outnumbered, a man at the next table picked up a handful of chopsticks from the chopsticks barrel on the table and threw them at him. The people who attacked Mao 18 were stabbed in the eyes and cheeks with bamboo chopsticks.
31茅十八谢过那人，并询问姓名，那人竟不答话，扶着一个始终低着头的女客出了店门，上车乘马而去。韦小宝认出那人就是白天在官道上遇上的那个骑马汉子，那女客便是坐在骡车中的女子。
Mao Shibah thanked the man and asked his name, but the man didn’t answer. He held a woman who always lowered her head out of the shop, got on the bus and rode away. Wei Xiaobao recognized that the man was the horseman he met on the official road in the daytime, and the woman was the woman sitting in the mule carriage.
32不一日到了北京，两人来到西城一家小酒店。一老一小两个太监，坐在旁边一张桌上。那面色蜡黄的老太监从怀中取出一个药包，用指甲挑了少许药溶在酒里，小太监小心侍候他服下。
On the other day, they arrived in Beijing and came to a small hotel in Xicheng. Two eunuchs, one old and one young, sat at a table beside them. The sallow old eunuch took a medicine bag from his pocket, picked a little medicine with his fingernail and dissolved it in the wine. The young eunuch waited on him carefully to take it.
33店门口脚步声响，七名光着上身，穿牛皮裤子，辫子盘在头上的大汉冲将进来，无缘无故将酒保摔得死去活来。韦小宝一见，心头有气，便挑拨茅十八教训他们:“你们欺侮酒保，箅什么好汉?有种就跟我这位朋友斗斗!”
There was a sound of footsteps at the door of the store, and seven big men with bare upper body, cowhide trousers and pigtails on their heads rushed in and smashed the bartender to death for no reason. At the sight of Wei Xiaobao, he felt angry, and provoked Mao Shiba to teach them a lesson: “You bully the bartender, what kind of hero are you? If you have the guts, fight with my friend!”
34茅十八使开擒拿手法，顷刻间打倒了四名大汉。他拉住韦小宝，拔足往酒店门口奔去。只跨出两步，便见那老太监弯着腰，站在门口，挡住了去路。
34 The Eighteen Commanders of Mao defeated four big men in an instant by means of opening and holding. He grabbed Wei Xiaobao and ran to the door of the hotel. After only two steps, the old eunuch stood at the door, bending over, blocking the way.
35茅十八的手掌刚和老太监肩头相触，便不由自主一个踉跄，倒跌出数步。茅十八知道今日遇上了高人，兀自提了韦小宝向后堂奔去。只奔出三步，听得一声咳嗽，老太监又已站在面前。
35 As soon as the palm of Mao’s hand touched the old eunuch’s shoulder, he could not help but stumble and fell several steps. Knowing that he met an expert today, Mao Shiba ran back to the hall with Wei Xiaobao. After only three steps, I heard a cough and the old eunuch was standing in front of me again.
36转眼间茅十八便被老太监封住了穴道，倒在地上动弹不得。韦小宝企图沿着墙壁，悄悄溜走，那老公公伸指一弹，一根筷子飞将出来，戳在韦小宝右腿的腿弯之中。
36 In a flash, Mao Shiba was sealed by the old eunuch and fell to the ground. Wei Xiaobao tried to sneak away along the wall. The husband flicked his finger and a chopstick flew out and poked it into the leg of Wei Xiaobao’s right leg.
37韦小宝和茅十八被那老太监捆了，嘴里塞满布块，眼睛蒙上黑布，带入一处屋宇。那老太监叫海公公，只听他戚道:“小桂子，给他们松拓绑!”小桂子便拿了小刀喀喀地割开绳索。
Wei Xiaobao and Mao Shiba were tied up by the old eunuch, their mouths full of cloth, their eyes covered with black cloth, and took them into a house. The old eunuch called Haigong, and he said, “Little Guizi, let them loose!” So she took a knife and cut the rope.
