快而糙 Fast and Dumb

作者： Anthony Burch

快而糙，还是慢而精？

Fast and dumb, or slow and smart?

易总是问我这个问题。其实并不能说是问题。因为没有讨论的余地。基本没有。你可以随性而为、随机应变、随心所欲，或者也可以按照易的方式。正确的方式。慢。小忍。大谋。他总是满脸沉重，就像是踩了屎。他的确踩过。是我灌进他靴子里的，本想开个玩笑。

That’s what Yi always asks me. Well, I say “asks,” but it’s not really a question. Not up for discussion. Not really. You can be impulsive and quick and improvisational and have fun... or you can do things Yi’s way. The right way. Slow. Patient. Strategic. With a gruff, determined expression on his face, like he stepped in crap. Because he did. Because I shoved some inside his boot, thinking he’d find it funny.

可他没笑。

He didn’t.

（我是笑了，所以这个玩笑还算成功。）

(I did, though, so it all kinda worked out in the end.)

话说回来，其实真正让人气愤的地方在于：他往往说得都对。在我们一同修行的这些年间，我赢过他的次数能有……十二次？他完胜我大概有好几百次。每一次，我都输得灰头土脸。我知道我输在不够沉稳。总是在没有十足把握的时候就出手，或者是自以为抓住了破绽结果正中他下怀。

The really irritating thing, though: he’s usually right. Through the years we’ve trained together, I’ve beaten him in combat something like...twelve times? Versus the hundreds of times he’s walloped me. And every time – every single time I ate a mouthful of dirt – I knew it was because I’d gotten impatient. Took a swing I wasn’t sure would land. Lunged for an opening that ended up being a trap.

我可不是在谦虚。我很厉害。相当厉害。但是易，虽然不懂幽默，却是我见过的最厉害的人。他也并不慢。他很快。没见过比他更快的。这么说吧：他的剑一出鞘，眼前一花，三个人就倒在地上血流不停。就那么快。

And I’m not being humble. I’m good. Really good. Yi, humorless as he is, just happens to be one of the best warriors I’ve ever met. It’s not like the guy is slow, either: he’s fast. Faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. As in: he unsheathes his blade, then there’s a blur, then three guys are bleeding on the ground. That fast.

所以每当他告诉我“慢而精”好过“快而糙”的时候，我通常都会试着去理解。

So when he tells me to choose slow and smart over fast and dumb, I try to listen most of the time.

重点是“试着”。

Keyword being “try.”

还有“通常”。

And “most of the time.”

我们当时正在一人多高的蘑菇丛林中游荡，突然听到一声喊叫。

We were wandering through a forest of man-high mushrooms when we heard the shouting.

我的精彩笑话正讲到最后，眼看就要抖包袱了，易堵住了我的嘴，还把我拖进了蓟花草丛里藏了起来

In addition to cutting off the punchline of an incredible joke I’d been telling, Yi made me dive into the thick of a thistleshrub to avoid detection.

来者六人。五名武夫绑着一个年迈的农民，老人满脸焦虑。

There were six of them. Five bandits and their rope-bound captive, an elderly farmer with anxious eyes.

我见此情形不由分说，要让他们统统吃我一棒，锄强扶弱，但易却拉住了我。他指指自己的嘴巴，又指指眼睛。静观其变。运筹谋划。快而糙，还是慢而精？

I felt this situation called for a liberal application of hitting people in the head with my staff, but Yi held me back. He put a finger to his lips, then pointed at his eyes. Observe. Strategize. Fast and dumb, or slow and smart?

我叹了口气，开始用仔细打量起这群人。

I sighed and looked over the group with a discerning eye.

武夫们衣衫褴褛，弓腰屈膝，神情紧张。似乎他们更注重保养自己的刀剑而不是自己。他们一边行进一边扫视四周，提防埋伏。一个人往农夫的嘴里塞了一块破布，可能是为了不让他再那样喊叫。虽然他们外表脏乱不堪，但我敢说他们绝不是一群粗野的山贼。十有八九，他们是纳沃利兄弟会。这是一群在诺克萨斯人打来时建立的游击队，虽然战争已经结束，但他们却没有放下武器。一些纳沃利成员为自由而战，一些是因为自己只懂打仗，还有一些，比如这几位，可能只是借用兄弟会的名号打家劫舍，欺凌弱小。

Raggedy clothes hung off their hunched backs, taut with stress. They seemed to take far better care of their blades than themselves. Their eyes scanned their surroundings as they marched, on the lookout for any potential ambush. One shoved a gag into the old farmer’s mouth, presumably to stop the shouting we’d just heard.

老农突然摔倒在地。肯定是故意的，太明显了。这几名武夫显然也看得出来。

Bandits.

为首的人停了下来看着老人。“你已经露馅了，”他说。“你虽然老，但还没老到这地步。每走几百步就倒一次，是想拖时间吧？你再好好想想，有用吗？这招太老套了。比你还老。”

The old farmer collapsed to the ground. The tumble was intentional; anyone could tell that. His captors certainly did.

他蹲了下来，视线与老人平齐。

The leader stopped and faced the old man. “Well, that tears it,” he said. “You’re old, my friend, but you’re not that old. Falling over every few hundred steps to stall for time? Give yourself a second to think about how you’re gonna get out of this? That’s an old trick. Older than you.”

“还说自己家里有一箱贵重的宝石，真有么？”

He squatted to the farmer’s level.

老人瞪大眼睛盯着纳沃利武夫，眼中的恐惧逐渐变成了绝望。

“You don’t really have a chestful of precious stones at home, do you?”

他摇了摇头。

The old man stared at the bandit, terror slowly replacing itself with resignation.

“可惜了。”那个纳沃利武夫摆出一脸和蔼的微笑。就是那种，笑里藏刀的笑法。

He shook his head.

“我必须现在救他。”我对易悄声说。

“That’s a shame,” the bandit said, a genial smile on his face. The kind of smile that usually leads to somebody pulling out a dagger.

易用力对我摇头，同时又小心地不让自己的护目镜发出响声。我不用问就知道，他八成是想分出一人绕到路对面，包夹对手。或者是什么同样机智但却费时的计策。慢而精。

“I’m gonna go save him now,” I whispered to Yi.

Yi shook his head as hard as he could without rattling his goggles. I didn’t have to ask why. He likely wanted one of us to sneak around them and attack from the other side of the pass, trapping them in a pincer. Or something equally cunning and time-consuming. Slow and smart.

易最大的问题，除了不懂我的幽默感、护目镜像是一只大虫子头以外，就是他过去几年待在花田里的时间太久了。他的耐心是无限的。他觉得所有事情都可以精心策划，破局解围。

Yi’s big problem – apart from not finding me funny, and the fact that his goggles make him look like a man-sized bug – is that he spent the last handful of years sitting alone in a field of flowers. His patience is infinite. He thinks everything can be thought through. Planned for.

易没有见过纳沃利兄弟会。

Still, Yi had said to go slow. We’d try it his way. I nodded at him, then at the path behind the thugs. You get behind them. I’ll attack on your signal.

我曾经戏弄过几个纳沃利。其中有一个人差点把我的耳朵割下来。他们很难缠，脾气大，拳头也大。

Yi circled back through the brush. He darted to the other side of the trail, too quick to notice, even if they had been looking in his direction. Classic ambush setup: he’d get their attention, and while their backs were turned, I’d hit them from my side of the path.

易依然坚持稳妥行事。我们还是要按照他的计划来。我对他点了点头，然后对着纳沃利身后的小路点了点头。你去包抄。我等你的信号。

That’s when the lead bandit pulled a blade out of his right pocket. A small little thing, not good for much more than peeling fruit. Or slicing the throat of a tired old farmer.

易慢慢撤出草丛，然后蹿向路对面，速度飞快，即便是从他们面前跑过他们也看不见。经典的埋伏策略：他负责吸引他们，当他们转过身以后，我就从他们背后偷袭。

I couldn’t see Yi in the brush on the other side of the road, but I knew he couldn’t see the blade. He didn’t know what was about to happen.

就在这时，那个纳沃利已经从自己的右手衣兜里掏出了一把刀。非常小巧的刀，只适合用来给水果削皮。或者用来割开一位老农民的喉咙。

They were about to kill the old man, no matter how safe Yi wanted to play it. We had no time to go slow.

我看不见小路对面易的位置，但我知道他一定没看见这把小刀。他不知道情况有多危急。

Thankfully, I had a secret weapon up my sleeve: I’m really, really, really good at fighting.

他们马上就要杀掉这位老人了，他们可不管易的稳妥策略。再慢下去就来不及了。

The leader grabbed the old man’s scalp and put a knife to his throat. I leapt out of the brush, staff held high, and smacked the blade out of his hand. Then we got to my favorite part.

多亏，我还留了一手：我非常，非常，非常能打。

Whenever I get the drop on somebody, I usually get about a two to three second window as they try to make sense of me. Most people have never seen a vastaya, much less a Shimon. They stand there slack-jawed, which typically gives me a chance to hit ‘em before they realize what’s going on.

为首的纳沃利抓住老人的头皮，将小刀横在他脖子前。我跳出草丛，手中的长棍高高举起，猛力一挥，打落了他手中的小刀。然后就到了我最喜欢的环节。

每次我突然袭击，人们通常都会有两三秒的时间愣在原地，想要弄清我是何方神圣。因为大多数人从未见过瓦斯塔亚，更别提思猕猿了。他们呆若木鸡地站在那里，还没弄清楚情况，就被我先发制人。

我用膝盖撞向为首的纳沃利，牙齿碎裂的声音尖锐刺耳，即使是我，听了也要颤一下。

I drove my knee into the lead bandit's chin, and his teeth clacked together so hard, even I winced at the sound.

“别出来，易！”我对他正在埋伏的草丛大喊。“我能搞定。”

“Stay where you are, Yi!” I shouted into the bush where he waited, unseen. “I got this.”

突然一把匕首刺中了我的肩膀。

That’s when a knife hit me in the shoulder.

显然，其中一个纳沃利混蛋在胸前的皮带里准备了飞刀，我刚才没注意到。我尽量不去想象此时此刻易脸上得意洋洋的笑。

Apparently, one of those jerks had been wearing a bandolier of throwing daggers across his chest, and I hadn’t noticed. I tried not to imagine Yi smirking to himself.

“依然搞的定吗？”他从草丛里向我大喊。估计是想等到我被打掉了牙吞进肚子里，然后再跳出来救我一命，然后再训上一通，我不是让你慢点了么？

“Still ‘got this,’ do you?,” he yelled from the brush. Likely staying out of the fight just long enough for me to get my teeth kicked in, so he could leap in, save me, and shout that he told me to slow down.

“定！”我一边喊一边往地上摔了一把烟雾罂粟。（我常会在身上带着的东西。不仅在打架时很好用，无聊的时候还能激惹易。）

“Completely!” I shouted as I tossed a handful of smokepoppies to the ground. (I always keep a few on me. They’re useful in combat, and even more useful for irritating Yi when I’m bored.)

然后我将剩余的武夫打得落花流水。这里就不多说了—

Then I beat the hell outta the rest of them. I won’t trouble you with the details–

—等一下，我还是说吧，因为打得太精彩了。

–Wait, yes I will, because they’re great.

我紧握长棍，远端前支，随后旋转腾挪，棍端略微上翘避，免误伤趴倒在地的老人。木棍每一次击中头颅，手臂上都会传来一阵颤栗。我躲避戳刺，格挡挥砍，最多只是被人用拳头打到脸，顶多也就两次。

I held my staff out and twirled around, aiming high so as to avoid the prone old man. My arms shuddered with every impact of wood against skull. I dodged blows, parried strikes, and only got punched in the face, like, twice.

等到烟雾散去，场上只剩下了我一个站着的了。呃，我把老人扶起来以后就是两个。

By the time the smoke cleared, I was the only one still standing. Well, me and the old man, once I got him to his feet.

易从草丛里走了出来，长叹一声。

Yi stepped out of the brush, sighing.

“噢你又来了，”我说。“你叹什么气啊？我已经救下了这个糟老头了──”

“Oh, come on,” I said. “What are you sighing for? I saved the grungy old man–”

“──嗯？！”那位老人说。

“–Hey!” the old man said.

“我的肩膀也只需要几天就能愈合。呜，”我一边说，一边摸了一下伤口。“这一回哪里又让你不满意了？”

“And my shoulder will probably heal in a couple of days. Ow,” I said, touching the wound. “What’s disappointed you this time?”

易给老人松了绑。“我没有不满意，”他说。“我很恼火。”

Yi cut the man’s bindings. “I’m not disappointed,” Yi said. “I’m irritated.”

“咋？”

“Why?”

“因为我不喜欢承认我错了。你浮躁、鲁莽，但你确实做对了。”

“I don’t like admitting I’m wrong. You were impatient, reckless, and you absolutely made the right call.”

我笑了。

I smiled.

“快而糙。”

“Fast and dumb.”

他拍了拍我没受伤的肩膀。

He patted me on my non-bleeding shoulder.

“快而糙。”他说。

“Fast and dumb,” he said.